


Line of Duty

by RavensCAT, Wargurl83



Category: Supernatural
Genre: BAMF everyone, BAMF!Cas, BAMF!Dean, Blood and Violence, Captain Castiel, Cas is very strong in this fic, Dean being a little shit, Detective Dean Winchester, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Getting Together, M/M, Morning Sex, Tags as we go, The police au no one asked for, Violence, eventually, hurt!Dean, just saying, sort of slowburn, threatening phone calls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-09-01 23:49:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16775392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavensCAT/pseuds/RavensCAT, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wargurl83/pseuds/Wargurl83
Summary: When Dean is shot in the line of duty, their Captain, Cas, orders Dean to come home with him so he can keep a better eye on him. All the while Cas receives threats against his team from a notorious gang. Castiel's past surfaces and he struggles to keep everything together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All right everyone, strap in because this is gonna be a wild ride. 
> 
> OKAY SO JEN (WARGURL) HAS HOPPED ON BOARD WITH ME (GEM RAVENSCAT) AND I IS SO EXCITED. So she's gonna suffer through with me now. 
> 
> ALSO COP!CAS AND COP!DEAN what more can we ask for???
> 
> Gem: Wanna add anything else?
> 
> Jen: *Maniacal laughter*
> 
> Also a lot of this is written so don't worry. We shall not abandon it.

**Chapter 1:**

“Everybody in position?” Castiel, their leader’s, voice crackles over the coms.

“I’m a go,” Dean whispers from where he is crouched down underneath a broken window at an abandoned building.

“Go from here.” His partner, Jo’s voice rings out in his com, who was a couple of feet behind him at another window.

“Ready,” Benny says from his position at the front of the building.

“Yes sir,” Garth calls from the back of the building.

“Okay you guys are a go. You have all possible exits covered and from what I can see in the security cameras there is no movement anywhere outside or near you right now. Also, try and keep your arms clear of your body cams.” Charlie pipes in. She is back at their operations center keeping an eye on all five of them from the cameras near and on them, helping where she could.

The entire crew has their bulletproof vests on and their handguns strapped to their legs as backups. They were all holding Colt M4A1 rifles, ready to go.

“Okay, 3, 2, 1.” Cas whispers. They all move in perfect synchronization and stand from their crouched positions keeping their heads low at Cas’ ‘one’. Dean and Jo jump in through the windows and give each other nods as they head in opposite directions. Garth kicks in the back door and stays along the wall. Benny kicks in the front door and Cas steps in first, Benny following him right after going in the opposite direction. They work to clear the building as quickly as possible.

They had gotten a lead that the case of the abducted girl was related to a high profiled criminal. The abducted girl, Amber, was the daughter of the lawyer who was fighting the case against the guy and they suspected the girl was being held in the building they were currently in.

It was a single floor building and they cleared it quickly.

Dean came to another closed door and puts his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything. He hears a muffled sniffle and suspects that Amber is in there.

He kicks open the door, his rifle raised. There is the daughter in the center of the room tied to the chair with multiple minor wounds on her body. There is a white gag in her mouth and her dark hair is matted to her forehead. Her pale blue eyes are wide with fear. The guy behind her raises his gun to shoot Dean but Dean reacts quicker and shoots him in the chest before he could. He drops to the ground and the girl lets out a muffled scream. Her eyes widen more, if that was even possible, and she starts mumbling intensely.

“It’s okay? I’m here to save you.” Dean says.

She shakes her head no and Dean frowns. What is she trying to tell him?

“What is it?” He asks.

She looks behind him and Dean whips around, but it’s a couple of seconds too late and the guy Dean failed to see raises his gun, shooting Dean.

Dean lets out a pained scream before he crumples to the ground, hands clasped around his thigh.

“Guys, Dean’s been shot. He’s down. He got one of the guys and there was one more hiding behind the door. The girl is also in there.” Charlie says through their coms. “East side, down the hall, last room.”

“Got it,” Cas repeats in a calm voice, although his heart feels like it just dropped into his stomach. He’s liked Dean ever since he had joined their team a year ago, and has yet to say something; he may never get to now. Dean was always flirting with him but he always tried to ignore it in favor of both their jobs.

He rushes towards the room and Benny, Jo, and Garth meet him there. They step in with their weapons raised. Cas eyes Dean on the floor holding his injured leg above the wound. Both of his weapons have been taken from him and were thrown in the corner. The kidnapper has untied Amber and has his arm around her neck standing behind her with his gun placed on her temple. She was shaking like a leaf with tears streaming down her face, getting soaked up by the gag.

“Police! Put your weapon on the ground!” Cas yells.

“Hell no. I ain’t gonna listen to you. You let me leave or I kill the girl.”

“C’mon, think this through. You are outnumbered. Even if you do manage to get out of here your boss will kill you.”

“Why would he kill me?” The guy asks.

“Do you really think he will believe you when you tell him you escaped the police? Just drop your weapon and come with us. Whatever information you give us will go towards a shorter sentence for you, as well as protection once you get out.” Cas explains.

The guy seems to realize what Cas is saying and his grip loosens on the girl’s neck.

“If I come with you willingly and tell you everything, will you promise me protection?” He asks.

Cas nods.

The guy drops his weapon and kicks it towards Dean who pushes it aside. He steps back from the girl and she runs towards them before collapsing into Jo’s arms.

“Charlie, I need two ambulances here,” Cas says over their earwigs.

“Already on their way, Sir,” Charlie responds.

“Okay.”

Jo unties the girl’s arms and removes the gag and helps her into a sitting position. Benny and Garth handcuff the guy and take him to the car outside, reciting his Miranda rights as they walk. Cas rushes over to Dean’s side. He grabs Dean by the shoulders and Dean raised bleary eyes to look at him.

“‘m sorry, Sir.” Dean mumbles.

“Why Dean?” Cas asks as he gets on his knees and removes his belt.

Dean’s eyes drift down to Castiel’s waist and he subconsciously licks his lips.

“I couldn’t save the girl,” Dean says.

“But you did Dean. You found her. We saved her.” Cas says as he moves closer to Dean and places his hands over Dean’s, gently removing them. Dean winces and clenches his hands into fists as Castiel raises his leg so he could slip the belt underneath. He threads it through the loop and hikes it up higher, in the process his knuckles brush against Dean’s crotch. If Dean wasn’t in so much pain he is sure he would be getting hard right now. He’s had a crush on Cas ever since he had seen his pretty blue eyes the day he was interviewed. He is always flirting but Cas never reacted.

In his distraction, he doesn’t notice Cas getting ready to pull the belt tight.

He lets out a small scream and tries to pull his leg away, he reaches out subconsciously and grabs onto Castiel’s arm tightly.

Cas pulls on the belt hard enough so the blood flow would slow down and when Dean flinches Cas easily grabs his leg and pulls it straight before pinning it beneath his knee, allowing the tourniquet to start working.

“I’m sorry Dean, I need to do this. We have to slow down the blood flow.” Cas says. Dean nods and Cas removes his bulletproof vest and grabs the corner of his shirt, pulling it over his head. Cas is the only one who isn’t in uniform as he was called in an emergency once they got the lead. He rips up a decent sized piece and rolls it up. He takes it and presses it down hard on the wound before taking another strip and tying the roll of cloth tightly to Dean’s leg.

Dean whimpers and his eyes fill with tears out of reflex, he bites his lip and tries to be quiet. Cas glances up at Dean’s face and his heart breaks.

“Oh Dean, I’m sorry. Shh, you’ll be okay.” Cas says as he pulls Dean closer to his chest. He maneuvers Dean so his back is against Castiel’s chest. He keeps the pressure on the wound and Dean leans his head back on Castiel’s shoulder, eyes closing.

“Dean, I need you to keep your eyes open. Stay awake for me. Can you do that?” Cas murmurs.

Dean nods, “Yes sir.”

“Good. Just keep ‘em open.” Cas says as he rubs his free hand down Dean’s arm.

“Benny, Garth?” Cas says over the coms.

“Sir?” Benny says.

“Ambulances out there yet? I don’t think Dean can hold on much longer.” Cas says.

“Just pulled up.” Garth answers.

“Okay,” Cas says; he could hear the sirens in the background.

A couple minutes later the EMTs rush in with stretchers and bags. Two of them take over from Cas and get Dean onto the stretcher while two others get the girl in the back of ambulance so they could treat her wounds.

“Sir,” Jo says as she comes up to Cas.

“Yes Jo?” Cas asks.

“Could I go with Dean?” She asks.

He nods, “Yes, the rest of us will meet you there in a bit.”

She nods and goes after Dean.

Two more first responders walk in to take care of the guy Dean shot, covering him with a white sheet. Cas looks away and drags himself off the floor. Cas comes outside and notes that Benny and Garth had already put up the yellow tapes marking the house as a crime scene.He walks over to the ambulance with Amber in it and talks briefly with her.

“We’ll get your full statement when you are feeling better okay?” Cas says.

She nods and the ambulance takes her to the hospital for further inspection, along with Dean.

He turns to Benny and Garth.

“Okay you guys go home, it’s been a long day. We’ll deal with the rest later.” Cas says.

“We were planning on going to see Dean when he’s out of surgery.”

Cas nods. “Okay, you guys go and I’ll take this guy down to the station.”

They nod and leave in a separate car leaving Cas to deal with everyone else. He talks to them and clears up everything before he gets in the car and heads down to the station. He processes the kidnapper and gets him in the cell. It was too late to ask any questions now so he explains to the guard on duty for the night what was going on and that he’ll be back tomorrow morning to finish up.

Before he could leave he had to finish up his paperwork.

Once he was done his work it was hitting close to midnight and he was too tired to even function properly. He packs up his stuff and heads out to his car. He glances at the time and debates whether he should call Jo to check up with Dean. He decides to.

“Hello?” Jo answers on the second ring.

“Hey Jo, are you still at the hospital? How’s Dean?” He asks.

“Yeah, I’m still here. Dean’s fine just drugged up on morphine. Keeps asking for you though,” she replies.

“Me? Why?” 

“I don’t know. Something about how he wants to see your pretty blue eyes.” Jo teases.

Castiel’s eyes widen and his cheeks turn a pretty shade of red.

“Shut up,” he grumbles out. Jo laughs.

“Anyways I was just about to head home,” Jo says.

“You’re gonna leave him alone like that?” He asks.

“Yeah, not much I can do.” Jo snorts. “He’s mostly just hitting on any moving thing right now.” 

“Who you talkin’ too?” Dean mumbles in the background. Cas smiles at Dean’s voice.

“I’m talking to Cas,” she answers him.

“Cas?! I wanna talk to Cas! Gimme.” There is muffling and then a pained noise from Dean.

“Dammit Dean, stop struggling. You’re gonna pop a stitch.” Jo yells.

“What’s going on Jo?” Cas asks.

“Dean’s being an idiot,” Jo grumbles.

Cas laughs. That was nothing new. Dean was always doing silly things.

“It’s not funny Cas, you should try being here for six hours with him.” Jo spits out. They have always called Cas ‘sir’ while they were on duty and ‘Cas’ when they were off. Everyone except Dean. He kept saying it was a force of habit.

“Hey, I’m awesome to be around,” Dean yells in the background, suddenly his tone changes. “Hey there beautiful, coming to check up on me? Making sure I’m not being naughty?”

Cas feels a pang of jealousy at Dean’s tone.

“Gross Dean,” Jo growls out. “Sorry about him. He’s just a horny bastard,” Jo says as she speaks to the nurse who had come to check in on Dean.

“Anyways I’m leaving. You gonna come here Cas?” Jo asks.

“I’m not too sure, but if you’re leaving I can come. I have the day off tomorrow anyways.” Cas says.

“Okay. I’ll wait for you.” Jo says before she hangs up.

Cas hangs up and sighs. He wasn’t planning on going to visit Dean tonight but after hearing Dean flirt with the nurse he has a possessive feeling twisting through his chest. He starts the car and heads towards the hospital.

*

He comes to the front desk.

“Hello, I’m here to see Detective Dean Winchester, shot in the line of duty. He was brought here for surgery. I’m Captain Castiel Novak.” Cas says flashing his badge.

She nods, “Give me one second sir.” She says as she wearily looks at the blood still on his face.

Cas waits patiently as she looks up the information. Once she tells Cas the room Dean’s in he thanks her and takes the elevator up to the right floor and walks past multiple rooms before he gets to Dean’s. He steps in and sees Dean shamelessly lifting the bottom of his gown up so the nurse could take a look at his stitches, the nurse was softly running her hand up Dean’s thigh. Cas swallows heavily seeing Dean’s bare thigh. He scolds himself mentally and clears his throat. The nurse startles and stands straight before turning around, red high on her cheeks. Dean’s eyes flicker to his and his smile gets wider.

“CAS!” He says.

“Where’s Jo?” He asks as he walks further into the room.

“Bathroom.” The nurse mumbles, before finishing her job.

Cas nods.

“Mr. Winchester, if you need anything or if you are in too much pain just press this button.” The nurse says, pointing to a button near the bed.

“Please call me Dean.” Dean slurs out.

The nurse blushes and nods. Cas gives her a glare and she swallows heavily and rushes out.

“Cass!! You scared her off.” Dean pouts, words slurring together. Well at least drugged Dean calls him ‘Cas’

“And you are drugged to the gills. Maybe you should sleep.” Cas says.

“You sure you’re not just jealous?” Dean asks, waggling his eyebrows.

Cas blushes, “You don’t know what you’re saying Dean.”

“’Course I do Cas.” Dean says as he grabs Cas’ hand and pulls him closer.

Cas stumbles and almost falls over Dean but catches himself in time. One of his hands grasped in Dean’s hand and the other placed beside his head, holding himself up.

“Dean.” He scolds.

“We both know you’re hot for me. I don’t know why you bother hiding it.” Dean mumbles, dangerously close to his lips.

Castiel’s eyes flicker down to Dean’s lips and he unconsciously licks his own.

“Dean.” He says again, softer this time. Just then Jo comes back into the room.

“Oh, you’re here.” Jo says as she walks in.

Cas straightens up again. Dean grumbles.

“Why is everyone cockblocking me today.” He whines.

Cas blushes and Jo snorts.

“Well since you’re here I’m gonna head out.” Jo says.

Cas nods.

“Are you gonna stay the night?” She asks before she leaves.

He considers her question for a moment before shrugging. “Not sure yet. I might as well. I’m too tired to drive home.” 

“Okay, I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Take care of yourself Dean.” Jo waves at him as she starts to walk out of the room.

“Yeah whatever, see ya later blondie.” Dean waves her off and then turns his attention back to Cas.

“So, Cas, my lips are all tingly and weird; you wanna kiss ‘em better?” He asks fluttering his eyelashes and gripping his hand tighter.

Jo laughs loudly from the doorway before she walks away, leaving Castiel and Dean alone.

Jo had known about Dean’s little crush on Cas ever since they had become friends. She also knew that Cas returned the feelings except he is trying to protect their jobs.  _ Well, maybe now they could at least realize what they mean to each other _ , Jo thinks as she leaves the hospital.

“Dean, seriously, sleep.” Cas says as he tries to move away.

“CASS!” Dean pouts. “Why? Why won’t you come close to me.” Dean’s lower lip quivers. “I’ve been trying to get you to date me since we’ve met. Do you not like me? Is it because I’m not on equal ranks with you? Is that it?” Dean mumbles, words running together more as his eyelids get droopy.

“No! Dean, of course not. I promise our ranks have nothing to do with it.” Cas pulls up a chair beside Dean and takes his hand in both his own, giveing it a little squeeze and Dean looks at his face.

“Then why?” Dean asks, his eyes welling without his consent.

“Let’s not talk about this right now, Dean.” Cas meets his gaze and his heart breaks. Damn Dean and his expressive eyes.

“Dean, c’mon. Don’t be like this.” Cas says softly. Cas was tired. It had been a long day, what with Dean getting shot, and having to finish all his paperwork and then coming right here after. Dean’s face was not helping. All he really wanted to do right now was grab Dean and cuddle him and go to sleep.

Dean sniffles and nods.

Cas sighs, drugged Dean was too expressive and open, not that was a bad thing or anything.

“Dean, I promise we’ll talk about this later okay? Just not now.” Cas says and he lets go of Dean’s hand. Dean didn’t like that very much and he made it very clear in the way he reaches out and grabs it again.

“Are you going to leave?” He asks.

“I don’t think I want to leave you alone like this.” Cas says.

Dean smiles and his eyes droop even further.

“Sleep Dean. I’ll watch over you.” Cas whispers as he runs a hand through Dean’s hair.

Dean yawns and closes his eyes, hand still tightly gripping Castiel’s.

Cas smiles and lays his head down beside Dean, still sitting on the chair.


	2. Chapter 2

7:00 AM

Dean stirs and opens his eyes. He blinks the sleep from his eyes and turns his head only to get a faceful of hair. Cas is laying in an awkward position; half on the chair and half on the hospital bed.

Dean winces, looking at the sleeping form of Cas.  _ That cannot be good for his back _ , he thinks.

_ He looks so peaceful like this _ . He flexes his arms and hands unconsciously and realizes the hand without the IV in it is still locked with Castiel’s. He blushes and removes his hand. He remembers everything he did last night and he sighs, running his hand down his face.

“Fuck I was such an idiot last night,” Dean whispers to himself as he buries his face in his hands .

Sighing, h e  starts to  stretch and yelps loudly when it pulls at the stitches on his thigh. “Fuck!”.

Cas startles and starts to reach for his gun  before  he realizes where he is. He sits up straight and reaches for Dean. “Are you okay, Dean? What’s wrong?” He asks frowning, heart racing.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, sir. I just forgot,” he says  as he gestures at his legs,  wincing and rubbing the back of his head. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay,” Cas replies, relaxing from his defensive posture.  _ Guess that’s what happens when you’ve been a cop for most of your life,  _ he thinks to himself. He stretches and his back cracks with a satisfying ‘crack’.

Dean looks at him and makes a face. “You didn’t have to sleep on the chair sir, you should’ve just went home.” Dean mumbles.

_ Great the ‘sir’ was back _ . Cas thinks, internally rolling his eyes . “I don’t mind, I was too tired to drive anyways.” He stands and goes to the bathroom attached to the room. Dean watches him go and then sighs loudly once the door closes. 

He lets his head fall back and stares at the ceiling.  “Fuck me! My stupid mouth couldn’t have stayed shut last night,” he curses to himself as a nurse comes in to check up on him.

“Morning, Mr. Winchester. How are you feeling today?” 

“Any chance you could kill me?” 

She frowns  and tilts her head to the side . “ Now  why would I want to do that?”.

“Because of the idiotic things I did yesterday.” There is an unspoken  _ duh _ hanging off the end of his reply.

She laughs at the disgruntled expression on his face and pats his shoulder . “C’mon. You weren’t too bad.”  She picks up his chart and crosses over to the machines beside his bed.  “Besides people do things that they regret when they are drugged all the time.”

“You don’t even know half the shit I did yesterday.” He  wasn’t sure why he was telling her  this , but he felt like  she would understand . “I just outed myself to my crush, who is also my senior, who is also currently in that bathroom,” he says as he points to with his thumb towards the bathroom.

The nurse giggles loudly, “Well at least now he knows how you feel.” 

He glances at her nametag:  _ Lisa _ . “Lisa, it’s not funny,”  he whines, wincing when he moves his leg again.

“Oh, it’ll be okay,” she says  as she pats his shoulder again . “C’mon now, let me look at your dressing.”

Dean sighs and nods. He removes the blanket just as Cas walks back in.

Dean blushes at his state of undress. Cas stops and also blushes seeing Dean laying there more than half naked  with a pretty brunette nurse leaning over him .

Lisa  glances  at the two of them and smirks, looking down to try and hide it  behind a curtain of her hair .

“Uh, umm, I’m just gonna go get some coffee or something,” Cas says, rubbing the back of his  neck  and walking backward. He stumbles into the garbage can against the wall before he turns around and rushes out of the room.

Dean groans and throws his head back  again .

Lisa laughs again, “I can see why you’re into him, he’s a catch.”

“Hey, paws off,” Dean mumbles through his embarrassment.

Lisa holds her hands up in a surrendering motion  and goes back to checking his dressing .

*

Cas takes a deep breath before heading to the Starbucks attached to the hospital.

Damn Dean and his sexy fucking body. Laying there half naked.  _ Should I bring up last night? Does he even remember? _

Cas sighs and orders his drink. He pays and slowly makes his way back to Dean’s room.

*

“Lisa, ouch!” Dean winces as she removes the tape from his upper thigh.

“Sorry, Mr. Winchester,” she says.

“Call me Dean,” he says, smiling at her.

“Such a flirt, Dean. I feel bad for your crush.”

“Hey! I’m not that bad!” 

She just smiles. She finishes up with him and then leaves the room, letting him know to call her if he needs anything else.

“Or you can just ask your boyfriend,” she says as she waggles her eyebrows and walks out of the room.

“He’s not my boyfriend or at least not yet, now if only he agrees that he wants me,” he yells after her.

Lisa pops her head back in the room, “I can help you with that...” 

“What do you mean?” Dean raises an eyebrow looking at her.

She smirks and tells him her idea.

“Oh, you sneaky devil, you,” he smiles.

“What do you say?” 

“I love it.”

She nods, “I’ll see you in a bit then.”

She leaves the room and then Dean’s bladder makes itself known. He debates calling Lisa back, but Castiel walks back in the room with a cup of Starbucks in his hand. “Is she done? Everything okay with the wound?” 

Dean nods, “Yeah, everything is fine.” He shifts restlessly, really having to go to the bathroom now.

“Hey, you okay?” Cas inquires, noticing Dean’s shiftiness.

Dean blushes, “Uhm, I sort of have to go to the bathroom. I can’t get up by myself though.” 

“Oh, why didn’t say so,” Cas says placing his cup down on the bedside table, “I’ll help you.” He leans over Dean and removes the blanket.

Dean blushes again, man why couldn’t they give him a pair of pants and why did that son of a bitch have to shoot him in the thigh? Why not the fucking arm or shoulder or chest even.

Dean sits up and swings his good leg off the bed and then he slowly moves his injured one to follow. Cas helps him by grabbing his ankle and gently pulling it off the bed. Dean winces when Cas lets go. He uses his arms to drag himself further to the edge of the bed and then can’t figure out what to do.

“Here, try moving your better leg down to touch the ground first, try standing on your good leg and I’ll help you,” Cas says.

Dean nods and reaches his good leg further down until it touches the cold ground, but before he can use his weight to stand, Cas bends over and wraps his arm around Dean’s waist and pulls him up and into his chest.

Dean gasps in surprise and his hands shoot out to grab onto Castiel’s shoulders. Dean leans into Castiel’s chest and raises his head. His eyes meet Castiel’s and he realizes how close they are and how underdressed he is. Cas maneuvers Dean and himself so that Dean’s injured leg is on the side he was standing on. He wraps an arm around Dean’s waist and pulls him into his side. Dean places his hand around Castiel’s shoulder and slowly takes a step forward. He hisses when his step pulls at his stitches.

“You okay?” Cas questions.

Dean takes a deep breath and nods. “Yeah, I’m good.” 

“Okay, lean on me as much as you need to, okay? I got you.” Cas says.

Dean nods, fuck, of course, he  knows Cas has got him, Dean has watched Castiel workout. He knew just how capable he  is . Even though he didn’t need to, Dean leans against Castiel further, just so he could feel Castiel’s body against his again. Who  knows  when that was gonna happen again.

“You remember anything from last night?” Cas asks as they make their way to the bathroom.

“No, not really, most of it is fuzzy.” Dean lies.

“That’s good.” Cas nods to himself. 

Dean’s heart drops. Cas had said last night that they will discuss whatever was between them tomorrow, but Cas seemed to think it was a good thing he’d not remembered . He’s not even going to mention it? “Wh…what? Why? What did I do?” Dean asks.

“Nothing much, I just mean you won’t have to remember the pain,” Cas says.

Dean drops it after that.

Cas helps Dean to the bathroom and goes in with him.

“You think you can stand alone?” Cas asks loosening his grip slightly.

Dean nods, “I’ll be fine,” he says and even if he wasn’t, he wasn’t going let Cas help him take a leak, this was all embarrassing enough as it was.

Cas lets go of Dean and Dean hisses in pain when it puts weight on his bad leg. He stumbles and almost falls but Cas grabs him and rights him.

“You okay?”

“Yea I just wasn’t prepared.” 

Cas lets go again but slower this time. Dean finds his balance and stands keeping his weight more on his uninjured side.

“I’ll just be outside,” Cas says. “Holler when you’re done.”

Dean nods, “Thanks, sir.”

“Dean, call me Cas, please.” 

“Sorry, force of habit.”

Cas sighs and walks out, closing the door behind him.

Dean does his business and then reaches over to grab the sink and uses that as leverage to help him get there. He washes his hands and rinses his face. He uses the paper towel to dry up. Luckily the door was right there and he swings in open.

Cas, who was leaning on it, stumbles inside and knocks into Dean who couldn’t support the sudden weight and falls back. He quickly grabs onto Castiel’s shirt and Cas instinctively wraps one hand around his waist and the other grabs the door  frame to balance himself. He pulls them both up and blushes, murmuring a ‘sorry’.

“It’s okay,” Dean says.

Cas helps Dean back to his bed and Dean sits down gingerly. He sighs deeply  as he sinks down into the mattress . “Fuck, that took more effort than I  expected .” 

Cas looks at him worriedly, “Are you okay? Any pain? You want me to call somebody?” 

“No, no. Sir, Cas, I’m okay.”  He waves Cas off and shuffles back onto the bed.

Cas loved the way his name sounded coming from Dean. Fuck, he was so far gone on Dean and he didn’t even realize it.

Dean loved the way Cas worried for him. It was so sweet and he did it every time, no matter where they were.

Castiel is pulled out of his thoughts by his phone’s shrill ringtone . He pulls it out of his pocket and frowned at the screen. ‘Unknown Number’  is on the display .

“Captain Novak.” Dean bites his lip, fuck Cas’ work voice was so fucking hot and intimidating at the same time.

_ “Hello Captain, heard you took down two of my men. That wasn’t very nice of you.” _ The female voice on the other end teases him.

“Who is this?”  Cas’ voice is hard when he answers.

_ “Who I am doesn’t matter, darling. What matters is that if you don’t let off the search and you don’t stop killing my members I’m going to start killing yours.” _

Dean sits up straighter, sensing the trouble and seeing Castiel’s posture tighten up.

“Are you threatening me?” He growls.

_ “Consider it what you want, baby. Just know that I have eyes on every one of your team members and let me tell you. I’ll start by killing every one of them, then once they’re all dead, I’ll come for your precious Dean. Soo weak and defenseless right now, I’ll take him and you. Tie you up and make you watch as I slowly carve him up. Maybe I’ll even let my men have a piece of him first.” _ She spits out.

His eyes dart over to Dean, who’s listening intently. Castiel’s eyes narrow and his hand is clenched into a fist. “ You think you can get away with this? You think I’m going to let you hurt my team?” Cas snarls.

Dean swallows hard, even though he knew Castiel’s anger wasn’t directed at him, his eyes were and that scared him. They looked so emotionless, so dead. He suddenly knew how Cas was so good at his job and why he got promoted so quickly.

_ “Hmm, why don’t you give your little redheaded girl a call. Ask where she is. How she’s doing. Ask her how her car is running,” _ She sneers before hanging up.

Cas frowns when a sudden realization hits him.

“Fuck! Fuck! Shit.” Cas rarely swears and when he does it was serious and Dean was starting to freak out.

“Sir? Who was that? What’s going on?”

Cas ignores him and quickly dials Charlie’s number. Charlie thankfully answers on the second ring. “Yo Cas, What’s up?” 

“Charlie, where are you?

“Just leavin my house.”

“Are you in your car?”

“Yep.”

“Is it on?”

“Just started. Why what’s going on?”

“Charlie, listen to me, don’t ask questions. Get out of your car. Leave everything the way it is and get out. HURRY!” Cas yells, losing his patience.

“Ok, okay boss, jeez.”

“Get as far as you can and get everyone nearby away. There is a bomb in your car,” he says, feeling helpless.

“What?!” Dean and Charlie screech at the same time.

Cas hears fumbling on the other side and holds his breath.

Dean manages his way out of the bed and reaches Castiel’s side. He snatches the phone from Cas and before he could protest, turns the speaker ‘on’. He hands it back to Cas and they hold their breath, flinching when they hear the sound of an explosion through the phone’s speakers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jen: You can totally blame where we ended this chapter on me. I'm an asshole.  
> Gem: You is evil.  
> Jen: Told you. *cackles*  
> Gem: *evil laughter*


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is a butt, mean lady calls and threatens them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo, we are alive. 
> 
> Gem is dead from finals, dragging through. Jen is doing all the editing because she's amazing like that. 
> 
> Longer chapter because we didn't know where to cut it ;) You're welcome.
> 
> Jen: Hey Gem, look over my changes before we post
> 
> Gem: They better be good, you rushed my shower for this, I smell like school *wrinkles nose*
> 
> Jen: You doubt me?? I doubt me too, that's ok.

...

“Charlie?!” Dean is dangerously close to flipping out as they both stare at Cas’ phone in his hands. “CHARLIE!” They both are yelling at the phone, hoping for an answer from the red-head.

“Fuck!” Dean swears, thrusting his hands into his hair and gripping tightly. This was turning out to be bigger than they expected, and he was scared for his teammate- his friend.

Then the line goes dead.

“What are we going to do Cas? What was that?  _ Who _ was that?” Dean asks frantically.

Castiel’s phone rings again as he tries to formulate an answer for Dean. Dean grabs it from him and turns the speaker on again, before handing it back to him.

Castiel’s voice is hard. “Who is this?” he demands.

_ “Let’s just say I’m a secret admirer,” _ she replies.  _ “And don’t worry, little red is fine. That was just a little teaser of what is to come if you don’t follow my orders.” _

Dean clenches his fists but before he could say anything Castiel is holding up his hand to keep him quiet. “What do you want?”

Dean’s eyes widen and he shakes his head  _ no  _ furiously.

Cas looks at him and motions for him to sit down.

Dean shakes his head.

_ “What I want, my sweet Castiel, is for you to release Azazel.” _

Dean’s eyes widen and he shakes his head for the third time.

“I can’t do that.”  Castiel informs the woman on the phone .

_ “Oh, so you want me to kill another one of your team members?” _ She asks,  _ “How bout we start with your precious Dean? All defenseless right now. That’ll give you an encouragement boost won’t it.”  _

_Precious?_ Dean thinks to himself. _What the_ _hell is this bitch talking about_ _?_ _Cas doesn’t feel that way about me, does he?_

“I don’t have the authority to release him.” Cas says again, moving closer to Dean and placing a hand on his shoulder.

_ “I don’t care, you have enough authority. You are a smart man, you’ll figure something out.”  _ She hangs up again

“Cas?! What the hell? Who is that?” Dean asks again.

“Dean I need to go,” Cas says as he makes a move to leave.

“Cas! No!” Dean g rabs his arm and tries to pull him back . Cas resists and Dean stumbles into his chest,  his injured leg threatening to give out under him .

“Dean…” Cas sighs, Dean still clinging to him.

“Cas, you gotta let me know what’s going on. I’m part of your team, I deserve to know.” Dean  is angry now, angry that his Capitan is trying to keep him out of the loop on something that may personally involve him and has already involved another one of their team members. 

Well at least Cas knew now that Dean would call him by his name when he was angry or scared.

“Dean, I want you to get better. I want you to take care of yourself.” Cas  knows he’s dangerously close to pleading with the other man, but shrugs it off . “I’ll take care of it.”

“Cas, you heard what she said. She’s coming for me. I want to know what is going on.” Dean’s  eyes are hard as he stares Cas down .

Cas sighs  and gestures to the bed. “Okay, but sit down.” He helps him sit down and then relays the story to him. “I need to make sure everyone else is okay,”  he finishes.

Dean huffs, “I feel so useless.” 

Cas smiles a little at the petulant look on Dean’s face. “Dean it’s okay. I’m going to appoint you a guard as well. Your name is number one on their hit list.” 

“I can take care of myself.” Dean grumbles.

“I know you can, but you’re hurt and a little extra help isn’t a bad thing.”

They both look up as Lisa walks in.  “Hey handsome, ready for your medicine and food?” 

Dean nods no, telling her it wasn’t a good time for  either . She  glances between the two men, taking note of  the expressions on both their faces and  nods . She quietly puts the tray of food on the table and hands him the  paper cup of  medicine with a glass of water.

Dean shook his head, “I don’t want it. I’m fine.”

“Dean it’s to prevent infection,” Lisa wheedles with him. 

Dean crosses his hands over his chest and looks away.

“DEAN, EAT YOUR MEDICINE!” Cas growls at Dean, the stress of everything  finally  getting to him.

Dean flinches. Cas has never  in all the time that he knew him yelled at someone like that,  at least not in Dean’s hearing . He grabs the water and pills from Lisa,  tipping the contents of the cup into his mouth before downing the pills with a gulp of water. Lisa rubs his shoulder in a soothing motion and takes the glass and puts it beside his breakfast.

She leaves the room and Cas sighs. Dean watches his hands, picking at the blanket, and refuses meet his gaze.

“Dean…”

He doesn’t answer.

“Dean,  will  you please eat something.”

“’m not hungry.” Dean  mumbles, still looking down at his hands .

Cas pinches the bridge of his nose before taking a deep breath.  “Dean, look at me.” 

Dean hesitantly raises his head and meets his gaze.

“Please eat something, you aren’t supposed to  take  those meds on an empty stomach.” 

“I can take care of myself, sir. You can go.” Dean says harshly.

Crap, the ‘sir’ was back. 

Castiel sighs  and drops his gaze. “Dean, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just- I’m scared. I don’t want anything to happen to you, to any of you.” Cas explains as he sits down on the corner of the bed.

“I’m sorry sir, I know I can be difficult to deal with but I just hate hospitals and  pain meds . Just- you aren’t alone Cas. Just because you’re our leader doesn’t mean you need take the burden of it all. We are here to share it,” Dean says as he puts his hand just above Castiel’s knee.

Cas covers Dean’s hand with his own. “Thank you, Dean.”

Dean nods. “Now Sir, can you do me one favour?”  He grins, trying to lighten the mood.

“Only if you stop calling me  _ Sir _ .” 

“Is that a promise?”  Dean quirks his eyebrow and smirks a little .

Cas nods, knowing that Dean wouldn’t ask him to do something  _ too  _ awful.

“Ok Cas, will you please,  _ please  _ get me out of here.”

Dammit, he knew this was going to bite him in the ass. “What? No, Dean. You’ve only been here half a day. They need to keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t care Cas, I’m fine and you promised.” Dean whines.

Cas sighs, he did promise and he has never backed out on his promise. “Dean…”

“Sirr…” Dean teases.

“Damn you, fine. I’ll do my best but I’m not a doctor, so I don’t get final say.”  Cas tries to shoot a glare at Dean, but fails.

Dean sighs, “Do your best, please Cas? I really do hate hospitals.”

“Yeah, I know. What I don’t know, is  _ why _ y ou want to get out of here so bad .” 

Dean takes a deep breath and looks up at Cas.

“I just, when I was little, there was a fire at our place. My mom had gotten stuck in Sammy’s nursery. She managed to get him out and pass him to my dad, who passed Sam to me and told me to get out. My dad went back to grab my mom and he did manage to get to her, but not before she had gotten severe burns all over her body. The ambulance took her to the hospital and they managed to save her. We visited her constantly at the hospital for two months before she couldn’t hang on any longer and she died in that hospital bed in front of me. I just, every time I come to the hospital, it reminds me of what I lost.” Dean doesn’t know why he’s telling this to Cas, but he feels like he can trust him and that he deserves to know,  especially with the way he’s acted since he woke up.

“Oh Dean, I’m sorry. Thank you for telling me.” He puts a hand on Dean’s uninjured thigh and gives it a squeeze.

“Thanks, Cas. I appreciate it.” Dean murmurs.

“Let me see what I can do,” Cas says as he steps away to go talk to the doctor. “I want you to eat something while I’m gone.”

Dean smiles,  and pulls his tray closer to him so he can eat while Cas is gone. 

Cas comes back in the room with a doctor trailing behind him. The doctor gives Dean a glare and Dean avoids his gaze. “So, Mr. Winchester, you want to leave?” The doctor is a little shorter than Cas and had light brown hair and hazel eyes. Honestly, the guy was hot, Dean had to admit to himself. Damn he just  _ had  _ to be hot, Dean always  ended up a blubbering mess when it came to cute guys; it was a wonder he had finally managed to flirt and talk with Castiel at all, let alone like a normal person .

“Uhm, yea, it would be nice,” Dean says, rubbing the back of his head.

“Why? Don’t like spending time with me?” The doctor teased.

“No, no. It’s not that doc. I… uhm…” Dean blushes and drops his gaze,  fidgeting with his fork.

Cas notices the blush on Dean’s cheeks and scowls.  _ Damn, did Dean think this guy was hot? Maybe it is better if he gets out of here. _

“I’m just teasing,” the doctor says,  patting Dean’s arm.  “But I still feel you should stay a couple more days so I can personally keep an eye on your wound.”

“Dean’s is a strong man, he can take care of himself.” Cas growls,  eyebrow raised .

Dean shivers at Castiel’s tone.

“Alright let me take a look at least before i make a decision on whether we can release you or not .” The doctor says.

Dean  pushes the tray back out of his way and pulls his gown up to expose his thigh.

The doctor sits on the bed and unwraps the bandage to check on the stitches. His hands brush against his balls  _ way  _ too many times to be  accidental . Dean bites his lip to avoid saying anything,  beginning to feel uncomfortable. He shifts slightly and looks at Cas who has his hands  clenched into fists.

Cas notices Dean’s uncomfortable posture and the way the doctor’s hands kept wandering and he couldn’t help the growl that built up in his throat.

The doctor lightly strokes his thigh as he says, “The stitches look okay, you might need a hand walking, and you’ll need to change the bandages every 5-6 hours to avoid infection and avoid getting this area wet. Clean the area with a damp cloth only and do not wash over the area with the stitches until after we take them out. New  bandages right after.” 

“Don’t worry, Doc. Dean’s going to stay with me till he fully recovers, aren’t you baby?” Cas says making up his mind and walking over to stand beside Dean.

Dean looks up at him. _ Baby? Where’d that come from? Oh-ho is Cas jealous? I like it.  _ Dean just nods, his throat locked up in shock .

“Ooh, you two are together? Sorry, I didn’t know,” the doctor says, removing his hand from Dean’s thigh.

Cas nods. “No worries, honest mistake. Dean is very attractive, isn’t he?” He sits beside Dean and leans over and kisses him fully on the lips. It was a chaste kiss but it had Dean letting out a quiet whimper and chasing Castiel’s lips once they had parted.

Cas reveled in the little sound Dean had made and  decided that he wanted to hear more sounds like that from Dean, wanted to be the one causing them.

“Hmm, that he is,” the doctor answers. He wraps Dean’s  leg back  up and stands up. “Well, he seems okay enough to go if he has someone living with him to make sure he’s okay, which I’m guessing is you. I’ll get Mr. Winchester’s release papers ready. You can sign them at the  nursing station . I’ll also give you Mr. Winchester’s prescription.”

Castiel  just  nods  at the doctor . Dean’s too busy staring at Castiel’s face trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.

The doctor leaves and Cas turns to face Dean.

“ Dude , what was that?” Dean asks.

Cas blushes a little. “I’m sorry Dean, I didn’t like the way he was touching you.” 

“Oh, so you can kiss me without permission but he can’t touch me to check my wounds?” Dean  shoots back in a teasing tone.

Cas frowns when he realizes what he did. He stands up from beside Dean and runs a hand through his hair, messing it up further.

Dean’s smile falls and he looks up at Cas. “Cas?”

“I’m sorry Dean, that was very inappropriate of me. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean to violate you like that.” Cas says as he takes a step back.

Dean quickly sits up and reaches for Castiel’s hand, “Wow, whoa, hey, Cas, it’s okay. You didn’t violate anything. I was just teasing you. I appreciate what you did.” Cas lets Dean grab his hand and pull him back to his side. He glances down at Dean and  sees the ernest expression on his face.  “Besides, the kiss wasn’t half bad.” Dean continues, smirking slightly.

Castiel relaxes. “Wasn’t half bad, huh? You were leaning in for more, if I remember correctly.”

“You’re the one who called me ‘attractive’,” Dean retorts.

“Hmm, that I did,” Cas says before removing his hand from Dean’s light grasp and walking out the door.

Dean watches him go,  jaw slack . Cas didn’t even deny it, he called Dean attractive and didn’t even  try to  take it back. This was not the shy, reserved Cas he knew. When the words finally  sank  in a blush  spreads  his cheekbones.

When Castiel comes back in, Dean still has a light dusting of red across his  nose . Cas looks at him and thinks he looks absolutely adorable. Dean looks up and sees Cas walking in with papers in his hands.

“What’s that,” He asks, jutting his chin towards the paperwork.

“Your release papers,” he answers “You’re free to go.”

“Thank god, get me out of here Cas.”

“We will Dean, we just need to wait for Jo to bring you some clothes. Unless you  _ want  _ to go like that?” Cas quirks an eyebrow, checking Dean out.

Dean just squirms under Cas’ appraisal. “And flash my scantily clad bottom to everyone? No thanks.” 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind the view, I know I wouldn’t.” Cas answers and damn, what was wrong with him?  Where in the world had his brain-to-mouth filter gone ?

Dean turns bright red again. Damn Cas and his mouth. He was going to turn Dean a permanent shade of red. “Who are you and where is the Cas I know?” Dean asks.

Castiel laughs and Dean can’t help but smile at the infectious laugh. Before Castiel could answer Jo walks in with Benny, Charlie, and Garth, and Cas walks over to them. “Thank god you are all okay,”  he says, pulling Charlie into his arms and tucking her head under his chin . “You okay Charlie?” 

“’m fine Cas.” Her words are muffled against Castiel’s chest.

He updates them with what’s going on and tells them all to meet at his house. There are frowns on everyone’s faces once he is finished. They nod.

“Dean, how you feelin brotha?” Benny asks, clapping Dean on the shoulder.

“’m good Benny.” 

Charlie pipes up. “Hey Cas?” 

“Yes Charlie?” 

“We will meet you at your house, but… in a couple hours.” 

“Why?” he asks, confused.

“Because you stink and need to shower.”

Jo, standing beside him, nods her agreement  with a little grimace on her face.

Cas scowls, “I do not!” He lifts his arm to smell himself and makes a face as the rest of the team laughs. “Okay never mind, I do… What did you expect? I was called in suddenly yesterday, went in for a bust without any prep, didn’t get to change out of my clothes after the mission ‘cause I had to do paperwork, and then came here right after.” Cas says, defending himself.

Everyone has expressions of guilt on their faces.

“Cas, you’re right. Sorry. It’s your day off today. You should be home resting.” Jo says.

Cas sighs, “I can’t be home resting when I know there is someone out for my team’s blood. Now meet me at my house in two hours.” 

They all nod and Jo hands Dean’s bag to Castiel before leaving. Dean eyes his bag wondering why it was so full.

“Cas, why’s my bag so full?” He asks,  dragging the ‘a’ of Castiel’s name out in question.

“You’re gonna need more than one pair of clothes if you’re gonna be living with me for a while,”  Cas replies as he digs a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt out of the bag for Dean.

“What?”

Cas frowns  and looks up at Dean , “I thought you got the message when I told the doctor.” 

“I thought you just said that to get him away from me!” 

“Partially, but I was telling the truth.”

“Sir, It’s okay. I’ll be okay myself.” 

Cas sighs. “Dean, please. I’m not in the mood for this argument.”  His weariness was  coming back to hit him at full force.

“’m not trying to argue.” Dean mumbles, dropping his head. Dean wasn’t used to being cared for this much. He had practically raised himself and his baby brother. He didn’t know  how to be the one being cared for instead of being the caretaker. 

“Dean please, I’m not letting you live alone until after you recover. If you want to leave this hospital that is the deal.” Cas says.

Dean nods.

“Quit sulking Dean, I’m not that bad. I promise I won’t be too hard on you.”

“I am not sulking.” Dean  mutters under his breath .

Cas just hums and hands the clothing to Dean. 

“Uhm…”

“What is it?” Cas asks.

“I’m gonna need help…” Dean trials off.

Cas nods and grabs Dean’s hand to  help him off the bed . Dean stands in front of Cas and Castiel places his hands on Dean’s shoulder  to steady him  and turns him around so Dean’s back is to his chest.

Castiel tugs the end of string at the top of the gown that is tied into a bow and pulls at it until it gives away and opens. Dean’s face feels like it’s burning, this was so embarrassing. Cas then tugs at the one in the middle  until the back of the gown falls open, only being held up by Dean’s shoulders.

Cas grabs the top of the gown and pushes it off, sliding it down so his arms were now around Dean as the doctor walks in. He stops at the entrance and eyes Dean appreciatively.

“Oh god, this is so embarrassing.” Dean moans  as he tips his head back to stare at the ceiling .

Castiel growls low in his throat and Dean  leans  back so he’s pressed against the length of Castiel to get him to calm down. Cas holds up the gown in front of Dean to cover him up as much as he could.

“Is there something wrong?” Castiel asks the doctor.

The doctor’s eyes shoot up from Dean’s bottom half to Castiel’s face.

“Um, yes. I forgot to give the prescription to the front desk. I was just… bringing… that.” The doctor says holding up the small white piece of paper.

“Oh, could you please leave it on the bed? Thank you.” Dean says.

Cas just watches him with a glare as the doctor nods and walks over, placing the prescription on the bed and then leaves.

“Yeah, I’m sure he ‘forgot’,” Cas grumbles under his breath.

Dean smiles and cranes his head around. “You’re a very jealous man, Cas.” Dean says looking in his eyes. “Even though I’m plastered to you, you go and give dirty looks to someone who is just admiring.”

“I’m not jealous.” Cas says indignantly. “And we aren’t together for me to be jealous.”

A look of hurt crosses Dean’s face one second but it’s gone the next. Castiel was right, they weren’t together and he was going to change that. He was going to tease Castiel to death and make him confess. He couldn’t  _ wait  _ to see how possessive Cas got when they were finally together.

“He thinks we are.” Dean wiggles his eyebrows at Cas.

Cas bites his lip and leans around Dean to grab his shirt off the bed. He hands it to Dean who puts it on. Castiel admires the view and traces Dean’s  back  with his eyes while Dean’s head is stuck in the shirt. Once he gets it through, Castiel’s eyes shoot back up. He mentally smacks himself.  _ Stop it. This is Dean, don’t go objectifying him _ .

Castiel grabs the sweatpants and stands in front of Dean, telling him to lift his injured leg first. Dean tentatively raises it and almost loses his balance. He reaches and grabs Castiel’s shoulders for support. Cas who was crouched down in front of him. At perfect level to… _Stop Dean!_ He scolds himself. _So not the best time to pop a boner._

Cas pulls the one side up and then tells Dean to sit on the bed. He pulls the other foot through the hole of the leg and helps him stand again before helping Dean pull the sweats’ waistband over the bandages. Dean sighs when they finish. Fuck, little things like this were taking so much effort.

“Thank you, Cas.” Dean says.

Cas gives him a nod. “I’m just gonna go grab your prescription from the hospital pharmacy,” he says, picking up the paper from the bed.

Dean nods, “Take my wallet. It’s in my bag.”

“It’s okay, I got it Dean.”

“Cas, no. You don’t need to.” Dean says.

“Dean relax. I got this.” Cas says as he walks out the door.

Man, Castiel was an angel. What did he ever do to deserve him in his life?

When  Cas returns twenty minutes later, he sees Dean stretched out on the bed scrolling through his phone.

“Dean? Ready to go?” He asks.

Dean looks up and nods.

“Yea, I’m ready.” He says.

Cas nods and Lisa walks in with a wheelchair.

“A wheelchair? Seriously?” Dean whines.

“Can you walk alone?” Lisa asks.

“No…” He grumbles out.

“Alright then. Plus, it’s hospital policy. Besides, do you really want Castiel to sweat again, after he basically drags you outside?” She asks.

Castiel pouts, “What is it with you guys and me smelling?! Is it that bad?”

“Nah, I like your musky scent, big guy,” Lisa says as she pats him on the chest.

Castiel blushes and drops his gaze to the floor which Dean thinks is adorable.

Lisa walks over to him and helps him in the wheelchair. Cas grabs Dean’s items, including his registered weapon, which had still been strapped to his leg when he was brought into surgery. He checks the safety and tucks Dean’s gun into his waistband. Dean bit his lip as he watched Castiel handle his gun. Fuck, that shouldn’t be as hot as it is. He puts the rest of his things in Dean’s bag and slings it over his shoulder and the trio exits the room. 

Lisa comes with them to Castiel’s black ‘69 Camaro, still parked in the Emergency Room parking lot. “Ooh, nice car Castiel,” Lisa says making heart eyes at him.

“Thank you.”

Dean clears his throat and Lisa drops her gaze to him. “Yeah yeah, I know he’s taken.” She waves him off.

Dean smirks at her and Cas just looks confused as they help Dean into the car and Cas thanks Lisa.

“No problem, Castiel. Also, don’t forget to bring Dean in at the end of the week for a checkup and to have the stitches removed.” She reminds him.

He nods and goes over to the driver’s side and gets in, putting the key in the ignition. She roars to life  with a twist of the key  and Cas leans back,  sighing . He backs out of the parking slot and heads towards his apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Giggles*
> 
> Get ready for Cas being all strong and shit in the next chapter *Drools*
> 
> Bonus:
> 
> Gem: What's our chapter summary??
> 
> Jen: *Sends pictures of cat on hubby playing on iPad*
> 
> Gem: WHYYY I'M DYING, THAT'S THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN. I'M TRYNA UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER!! CAN OUR SUMMARY JUST BE DEAN BEING A BUTT??
> 
> Jen: *sends more pictures of cat*
> 
> Gem: *dies* Okay Dean being a butt and mean lady threatening them.
> 
> Jen: *cackles* Sounds about right.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas carries Dean up 24 flights of stairs, Dean admires Cas' strength and an old lady almost outs Cas to Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhm uhm, there were pictures for the house description but they didn't like me (Gem) and didn't want to work so no pictures, boo :(
> 
> Gem: You have any notes or comments?  
> Jen:   
> Gem:...  
> Jen:  
> Gem: Hallooooo?   
> Jen:   
> Gem:... I guess not.

#  Chapter 4

Castiel  _ finally _ pulls into the underground parking lot below his apartment building and locates his spot. He puts the car into park and pulls the parking brake, then helps Dean out of the car and snags his bag out of the back seat. He directs Dean to the elevator with a hand at the small of his back. 

They both sigh when they realize the elevator is out of service, Dean mumbling a breathy ‘fuck’.

Castiel groans as he tips his head back to look at the roof of the garage. “Oh for crying out loud. Of all the days, why did this damn thing have to be broken  _ today _ ?”

“And of course you have to live on the 24th fucking floor.”

Cas shoots a glare at Dean. “I don’t remember you complaining when you were taking in the view from the living room.”

Dean nods his head to the side. “That’s true. I guess it is worth it,” he says as he remembers the view from the living room window. Cas really did have a nice apartment and Dean was around as often as possible. 

They sigh again and Dean looks up at the intimidating stairs and starts his slow hobbling climb. 

About a quarter of the way up, Dean is huffing and whining and stops to lean against the wall. “Cas,” he pants, “Stop, please, I can’t.”

Cas rolls his eyes, but he’s huffing along with Dean. “This is the third time you’ve stopped. We’ll never make it up at this rate.”

“Yeah well, what do you want me to do? Float up!?” Dean snarls back at him.

Cas rolls his eyes again as he bends his knees and scoops Dean up, bridal style, with a small grunt.

“Jesus Christ Cas!” Dean gasps out as he wraps his arms around Castiel’s neck. 

“What? We would’ve been here forever otherwise.” Cas starts climbing the stairs again. Dean just looks at the side of Cas’ face in admiration. Fuck he was strong and fuck if that wasn’t one hell of a turn-on.

When they reach the 15th floor the bump into Mrs. Greenway, a sweet old lady who lives on the 23rd floor with her husband. “Oh hello boys,” she says as she sees them coming up the stairs.

Dean buries his face into Cas’ neck and mumbles out a ‘hello’, slightly embarrassed at being carried as Cas huffs his own hello to the woman.

“You boys got together, huh? Finally told him, Castiel?” she asks, a glint in her eye. 

Dean whips his head around to look at her as Castiel hastens to correct her. “No… no… I… no… Dean was injured on a case, I’m just taking care of him while he gets better.”

Dean side-eyes Castiel and butts in, asking, “Huh? Told me what now?”

“That he-”

Castiel cuts her off. “Uhm, we really need to get going. Dean here isn’t exactly light you know.” He adjusts his grip on Dean and jiggles him a little bit to get his point across. 

“Hey! I’m not fat!” Dean squawks indignantly, slapping Cas a little harder on the chest than he had meant to.

“Ow! You are not helping your case,” Cas says, as he purposely loosens his grip on Dean, causing him to yelp and tighten his arms around Castiel’s neck. 

“Ok! Ok, sorry!”

Mrs. Greenway smiles at their antics and waves at them as she continues down the stairs. “Well, you two boys take care now. Let me know if you need anything at all.”

“Thank you!” both Dean and Castiel call out, and Castiel takes a deep breath, continuing up the stairs until they get to his own floor. He carefully puts Dean down and steadies him until Dean gets his footing, then fishes the keys from his pocket. He unlocks the door and steps inside. 

He leads Dean down the hallway, hitting the lights on the way. 

To the right was the kitchen.

To the left was the living room with the wide bay of windows.

Continuing further the same direction was the half bath that serves as the guest bathroom.

And finally the master bedroom after that. 

They get to the living room, and Castiel helps Dean sit down on the couch.

“I’m going to go place this in the bedroom,” Cas says, gesturing to Dean’s bag on his back.

Dean nods. “Can you hit the switch to open this,” he asks as he gestures to the foldable wall that opens to reveal an amazing view overlooking the harbor. Cas has the perfect view of everything. His bedroom was on the same side as the living room and had an amazing view from there as well.

Cas nods and hits the button on his way out of the room. 

Dean hummed as he twisted himself so that he could look out the window. Cas’ place wasn’t very big, but it was the perfect size for two people, had an amazing view, and was modernized to the nines. 

Cas tossed Dean’s bag on the bed and removes Dean’s sidearm from his waistband, securing it in the gun safe in the bedside table beside his own weapons. He has others hidden around the apartment as well, but this is where he keeps his service pistol when not on the job.

He grabs a fresh towel from the separate closet and places it in the master bath. 

He pads back out of the bathroom and shrugs his coat off, throwing it in the hamper along with his shirt. He goes back out to the living room where Dean was sitting with his leg stretched out on the couch. 

“Dean, I’m going to take a quick shower. Do you need anything before I hop in?”

Dean turns his head to look at him and pauses for a bit, his eyes wide and taking in the sight before him. His eyes ramble over Castiel’s bare chest before the man himself clears his throat. Dean’s eyes shoot up to meet Cas’. “Nope, I’m, uh, good.” He clears his throat a little. “I’m good.”

“Alright,” Cas replies as he walks over to Dean and grabs a pillow from the other couch and places it under Dean’s injured leg, making him more comfortable. 

“Thanks,” Dean says as he feels a blush creeping up his face.

Cas nods and heads off towards the bedroom again, but stops and pokes his head around the corner. “Hey, you don’t want to lay down, or sleep, do you?” he asks.

Dean thinks for a moment, then nods. “Actually, you know what. Yeah, I think I will take a quick nap before the rest of the team gets here.”

“Here, I’ll help you to the bed,” Cas says as he walks back into the room 

Dean nods again and stands slowly. Cas helps him to the room and Dean presses himself against Cas’ bare body, taking in the warmth radiating off the man.

“You want to change or anything?” Cas asks. “Freshen up maybe?”

“Nah, I’m ok.”

Cas hums and helps Dean lay down and pulls the covers over him before dimming the lights. Dean squirms until he can pull his phone out of his pocket and deposits it on the bedside table. 

“Thanks, Cas, really. I appreciate it. You didn’t have to do all this,” Dean says quietly.

“I wanted to, Dean. It’s no problem,” Cas replies softly. “I’ll leave the bathroom door open slightly, yell if it’s an emergency.”

Dean swallows hard. Castiel is going to literally be in the next room completely naked. This was all starting to feel very domestic, and it hadn’t even been an hour. On top of that, he was laying in the man’s bed, surrounded by his scent. 

He nods, and Castiel disappears through the door. 

Cas strips down quickly and hops into the shower. He tries to be quick, but his traitorous dick said otherwise and demanded attention. He glares down at it like he could stare it into submission, but it just bobs back at him as if to say, ‘ _ pfft, yeah right’ _ .

Cas tries to think unsexy thoughts, trying to will his erection away, but nothing seems to work and was didn’t really fancy a cold shower at the moment. Castiel sighs and takes his length in hand and hiccups a little at the contact. He bites his lip and glances through the clear shower door into the bedroom and sees Dean laying in his bed. Fuck, he hadn’t realized that he had a clear line of sight from the shower to the bed, or vice versa, or he would have closed the door a bit more. Dean had shifted onto his stomach and brought his injured leg from under the duvet and placed it on top, the other leg bent slightly and pulled towards his stomach. The position pulls Dean’s sweatpants tight over his ass, giving Castiel a damn good view and leaves nothing to the imagination. Dean’s hands are shoved under the pillow his head is resting on. He only had to turn his head the other way and slightly down and he would be able to see Cas naked in the shower. 

Castiel hadn’t realized he had a slight voyeurism kink until just now, and his cock hardened further at the prospect of being seen.

“Shit,” he whispers to himself. 

He strokes himself faster and braces himself with his forearm against the wall of the shower. He trails his eyes over Dean’s body and imagines what it would be like to run his hands from Dean’s ankles all the way up the planes and angles of his body. He imagines Dean under him, moaning and writhing in pleasure. He would tease Dean to the brink of coming and then back off, have him beg for it before finally giving him what he wants, what he needs. 

His orgasm rips through him and he bites the meat of his upper arm to muffle his moan of pleasure. He strokes himself through the orgasm and suddenly the reality of what he had just done hits him, and he feels ashamed. 

_ I can’t be having these thoughts about Dean. Shit, this is bad. I can’t do this, it’s wrong. _

He quickly washes up and gets out of the shower, giving himself a cursory wipe with the towel and realizes he didn’t bring his clothes in with him. He wraps the towel around his waist and steps into the room, quickly crossing over to his closet and grabs his black boxer briefs, slipping them on quickly. He stumbles slightly in his haste towards the open drawer, shutting it with a loud ‘thwack’ when it’s hit by Castiel’s thigh. 

Dean pushes himself up with a start and hisses in pain when the move pulls at his stitches. He looks over to where the noise came from and sees Cas standing there with water still clinging to his skin and in only a pair of boxers, towel pooled on the floor where he had dropped it. His mouth dries up as he takes in the sight. ‘ _ Well, there’s something for the spank bank,’  _ he thinks to himself. He shakes his head and his eyes shoot up to Castiel’s, who’s looking at him sheepishly. 

“I’m sorry Dean, I didn’t mean to startle you. I sort of stumbled into the drawer,” Cas explains, running a hand through his still wet hair. 

Dean shakes his head and turns over onto his back so he can sit up. “It’s ok.”

Cas grabs a pair of sweatpants out of another drawer and slips them on quickly. He then grabs a shirt and pulls it on. The shirt was one of his older training shirts and was now tight across his shoulders and chest. 

Dean bites his lip as he watches Castiel get dressed. That shirt left nothing to the imagination, and even though Dean had seen Cas shirtless, the shirt was making Dean’s dirty fantasies come to life. 

“I’ll be right back,” Cas says as he walks out of the room.

Dean snaps out of his dirty thoughts and nods.

Cas comes back a couple minutes later with a glass of water and Dean’s medication in his hands.

“It’s time for your pills,” he says, holding out the hand with the medicine.

Dean makes a face but lets Cas give them to him. He throws them back and takes the glass and downs them with a few gulps of water. Cas walks over to Dean’s bag and grabs the bandages the hospital gave him to change Dean’s dressing, then goes back to sit in front of Dean and pulls the blankets away.

“Here, let me change your bandages.”.

“No, it’s fine I can do it myself,” Dean says as he tries to slap Cas’ hands away.

“I’m sure you can, just let me help.” 

“Cas, it’s fine.”

“Dean.” Cas says in a stern voice.

Dean sighs and relents.

“Good, now, pants off.”

Dean blushes but shifts his hips to get the sweatpants down over his hips and bandage. Cas grabs the bottom and pulls them off completely.

Castiel moves in between Dean’s legs so he can get closer and grabs the tiny scissors and brings them to the white bandage wrapped around his thigh.

“Wow, wow, wow, careful with those. You’re dealing with precious goods here.” Dean says.

Cas smirks and makes sure to press the cold metal of the scissors against Dean’s thigh. Dean yelps and glares at Cas.

“That’s not funny,” he whines.

Castiel huffs out a laugh and proceeds to cut the through the bandage carefully. He pulls it off and removes the cotton covering the stitches. He takes the antibiotic and squeezes a bit onto his fingers and with a careful and steady hand puts it over the injured area.

Dean shivers at the sensation of Castiel running his hand lightly over his thigh. He bites his lip and tries to hold back the moan that tries to escape. He closes his eyes and tips his head back. His hands clench in the bedsheets and he takes a deep breath. He composes himself and looks back down.

“So much more careful than Lisa,” Dean murmurs softly.

Cas raises his head to look at Dean and they realize how close their faces are. Castiel’s eyes drop to Dean’s lips. All he has to do is lean in slightly and he would be able to taste Dean. Dean watches Castiel’s gaze drop down to his lips and he seductively tries to lick his lips. Castiel’s eyes shoot back up at that, knowing he was caught. Dean’s eyes glimmer and he has an amused look on his face.

Castiel’s face heats up and he looks back down to Dean’s wound. He wipes the excess gel on the cotton pad before he puts it over the stitches and wraps it up.

Before Dean could say anything, they hear the doorbell and they turn their heads towards the door.

“That must be the team,” Cas says.

Dean nods and swings his legs over the side of the bed. Castiel gets up and helps Dean up, managing to get his pants on together. Cas helps Dean to the living room before going over to the door, opening it to admit the rest of the team. 

“Hey. You look better,” Charlie says as she walks in.

“And we brought takeout!” Jo pipes up, holding up a bag that smelled heavenly.

“Thank god! I’m starving,” Cas says.

They head over to the couches and settle down around Dean.

“I’ll grab the forks,” Benny says, as he walks over to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED CAS BEING STRONG AF :P
> 
> Kudos are love  
> Comments keep us going.
> 
> Stay tuneddd, shit going down soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas is sad, Dean kisses him better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're sorry, we forgot this story existed and forgot to update it. Haha just kidding, life is kicking our ass as usual so just took a lil longer to get out butttttt its a long one to make up for it.
> 
> Grab some snacks and something to drink and enjoy!

For the next half an hour or so, the sound of chopsticks scraping the sides of cartons, eating, and the team ribbing on each other filled Castiel’s living room and kitchen as the team downed a frankly unhealthy amount of Chinese take-out. They carefully picked around work-talk, long ago having decided they would rather not talk shop and eat at the same time. 

Once their bellies were full, the conversation turned to work, and they discussed the main issue they were facing.

Benny leaned back in the chair he’d dragged out of the kitchen and crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, Boss.” His Louisiana drawl was pronounced, signifying the seriousness of the situation to his team, and indicating to Castiel that he wasn’t going to let the Capitan beat around the bush anymore. “What’s goin’ on. It’s time ta read us in.”

Castiel sighed, and leaned forward on the couch, depositing the plate on the coffee table before rubbing his face with both hands. “First, let’s go over what we know about this group,” he says, tapping on a folder that he’d laid out earlier. 

They nod, and Charlie grabs her laptop, pulling it into her lap so she can take notes for the case files later.

“Alright,” Castiel’s voice rumbles, “We know their gang is called Los Diablos. We’ve apprehended Azazel, one of their _teniente_ , and someone that could give us insider information.” 

“Yeah, and now they want Azazel released because once he’s gotten a court date, he’s gonna be indicted, and to shorten his time he’s gonna roll over and squeal,” Dean adds.

“They know we have enough evidence to put away Azazel for a long time. They want him released because he is one of their main men. Now, we need to figure out who the lady threatening us, is.” 

Charlie hums at this and puts a hand up to stop the conversation as she clicks around on her computer. She looks up after a few moments and eyes Castiel. “My recommendation would be to make sure your number is set up for a quick trace for when she calls back again. I’d also like to do so with the rest of our phones, just in case she tries calling one of us to get around any trace we might place on your phone.” She tilts her head to the side and continues, “She, or whoever put together the bomb in my car, knew what they were doing. The crime lab let me see the electronics that were used that weren’t vaporized, and while it wasn’t sophisticated, it was well done.”

Dean swallows, his throat clicking in the silence that follows Charlie’s short speech. He looks at Castiel and asks, “How likely are they to go after our families if they can’t get to us?”

Castiel raises his head and looks Dean straight in the eye when he answers, “Very.”

The team’s faces turn grim, and the talk turns away from what they know about the adversary to planning on how to keep their family - and themselves - safe until they can bring the ones behind this to justice.

*

“So, that about covers it,” Castiel says as he stands up and stretches, wincing when his shoulders pop. 

It’s been a few hours since they had started hashing the details out to pass along to the department for protective details for each of the team’s family members, and Dean’s fidgeting has become noticeable to everyone.

“Hey cher, are you ok?” Benny asks.

“Yeah man, just getting cramped up,” he says as he tries to straighten his leg and winces.

“Do you want to stand and stretch? How about we get you to bed, we did disturb your nap,” Cas says, standing up and walking over to Dean’s side. Charlie and Jo share knowing glances at Cas’ concern for Dean.

Dean nods. “Yeah, thanks Cas,” he says as he grasps Castiel’s outstretched hand and relies completely on Castiel to take his weight and pull him up. Once he’s up he turns to look at his team. “Guys be careful, all of you. Watch your backs. Let at least one of us know where you are or where you’re going to be.” 

They all nod.

“You too, Dean. Take care of yourself, focus on getting better,” Garth says.

He nods. “I’ve got Cas here to take care of me. Right, Cas?” he asks in a flirty tone. “You’ll take care of me, won’t you?”

Cas blushes and then nods, “I have so far, haven’t I?”

“Yes, you have,” Dean answers with a smirk. “Alright big guy, let's get me to bed.”

Cas nods and he helps Dean to the room.

“Let me know what happens,” he says as he sits on the bed. Cas nods and helps Dean lay down. He tucks him in and turns the lights off and closes the blinds. He closes the door just enough to the block the light from the living room and he heads back to the rest of his team. They all give him knowing looks when he gets back.

“What?” he asks.

“Something we should know about?” Charlie asks, eyebrow raised and a slight smirk on her face.

“No…” Cas responds. When they give him unimpressed looks, he rolls his eyes, “Nothing is going on!” 

“Not yet at least,” Jo says, waggling her eyebrows.

They discuss a couple more things before his team heads over to work. After everyone leaves, he clears up the takeout containers and creeps into his room to grab his cell phone. He checks on Dean, who was sleeping soundly and sneaks out again. He calls the chief and discusses what was currently happening with them. Chief asks to meet with him for a full report and he tells him he’ll be over in half an hour.

He goes back into his room, grabs his clothes, and writes a quick note for Dean which says, ‘Going out, be back soon.’ Out of habit, he jots down the time, and then he puts it over Dean’s phone to make sure that the injured man sees it first thing. He grabs his gun and then leaves the room. He dresses in the guest bathroom, tucks his wallet in his back pocket, and snaps his holster back onto his belt. He comes out of the bathroom and grabs his keys off the table and leaves.

*

Dean stirs under the covers and stretches, wincing when the stitches pull. He sits up and yawns. He hasn’t felt this relaxed after a nap in a long time.

He presses the button to open the blinds and noticed that it’s almost completely dark outside.

What the heck? Why did Cas let him sleep so long?

He reaches for his phone to check the time and his hand brushes against a piece of paper. He picks it up and looks at it.

“‘Going out. Be back soon.’ Cas went out? This is from four hours ago, why didn’t he wake me?” Dean says to himself after he checks his phone. 7:06 PM.

“CAS! CASTIEL!” He yells out, trying to see whether Cas was back. When he gets no answer in reply he frowns. He manages to get out of the bed and stumbles his way out to the living room, hissing in pain with each step.

Dammit, it really should have listened to Cas and gotten those crutches when he was asked. But nope, he just had to be his stubborn self.

“Cas?” He tries again; still nothing.

He thumbs his phone on and calls him, but it goes straight to voicemail.

“His phone’s off? Why?” he murmurs, “Cas never has his phone off. Shit, I hope he’s okay.”

He tries the rest of his team and he gets the same response. He was really starting to worry now. Where was everyone? Were they okay? Was Cas okay? What if something happened to him? What if that lady, whoever she was, got to him?

His breathing increases and he realizes that he’s dangerously close to hyperventilating. He shuts his eyes tightly and tries to calm himself, this was not the best time to pass out. He clutches the side of the kitchen counter tightly as he tries to control his breathing. Ever since his mother’s accident, his mind always thinks about the worst-case scenarios. He doesn’t know if it was his mind’s way of preparing him or scaring him, but one thing was certain, he fucking hated it.

“Calm down, you’re just being paranoid, everything is fine,” he tells himself, but he still can’t help but worry. He tries Castiel’s phone a couple times over the next hour but always has the same result.

“Shit! Dammit, Cas! Where are you?” He needs to distract himself or he was going to start spiraling. He heads to the kitchen and sees their used dishes from earlier as well as dishes that looked older than that. He shakes his head and smiles softly. He knows that Cas hates washing dishes and puts them off until he can’t anymore, so whenever Dean was over, he always stayed behind after their team was gone to wash them. Honestly, he doesn’t mind, he’s always enjoyed being in the kitchen, cooking, and keeping things clean in general. He grew up cooking for Sammy and he came to enjoy the motions and the calm it provides him.

He hobbles over to the sink and puts his weight more towards his uninjured leg. He starts by soaping up the dishes, then rinsing before putting them in the rack to dry. He tries to concentrate on the motions, but once again his mind insists on showing him scenarios that could’ve happened to Cas or one of his team members while he was dead to the world. He grabs the dish towel and wipes his hands when he hears the front door unlock. He rushes as best he can over to the hall to see Cas opening the door.

Castiel looks surprised to see Dean standing at the end of the hall.

Dean’s eyes fill with tears, he can’t help it, he’s just so damn glad to see the man.

“Dean?! Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Cas asks, panic evident in his voice. He rushes over to Dean who throws his arms around Castiel’s neck tightly, dish towel still in hand.

“Dean? Hey, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me,” he murmurs, wrapping his arms around Dean’s midsection.

Dean pulls back and hits Castiel in the chest, hard.

“Ouch! Dean? What the fuck?” Cas asks, clutching his chest.

“Don’t you dare do that to me again!” Dean grounds out. “I thought something happened to you! Where in the hell were you!”

“But… I left a note…” Cas trails off, surprised by Dean’s sudden violent and emotional outbreak.

“Yeah, from five hours ago! That said, ‘be back soon’. FIVE HOURS IS NOT SOON! I’ve been trying to call you for the past hour! Why is your phone off?” Dean’s yelling, he doesn’t know why he’s yelling or getting so emotional over this but thinking that something had happened to Cas had scared him and he never wanted to feel like that again.

“Dean, whoa. Let’s calm down okay?” Cas says putting his hands up in a surrendering motion.

Dean takes a shaky breath and Cas pulls Dean back into his arms.

Dean melts into Castiel’s embrace, “I thought something happened to you, I thought I lost you.” Dean murmurs into Castiel’s chest.

Cas’ embrace tightens around him, “I’m sorry, I should have left a better note, but I’m okay. Everything is okay.” 

“Where were you?” he asks once he manages to calm himself down.

“I called Chief to let him know what was going on and he called me in to explain further. He also called the rest of the team in. Didn’t know it would take so long for the meeting. That’s also why our phones were off,” Cas explains.

Dean nods and pulls out of Castiel’s embrace.

“Don’t do that again, wake me up next time,” Dean says as he plays with a dishtowel in his hand.

“I will, I promise. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you,” Castiel says, eying the dishtowel in Dean’s hand.

“It’s okay, I didn’t mean to lash out like that. I was just… scared,” Dean mumbles, not meeting Castiel’s eyes.

Cas nods. “Why do you have a dishtowel in your hand?” he asks warily.

Dean blushes, “No reason.” 

“Did you do my dishes again?” he asks as he raises his eyebrow.

“No… Maybe… Yes! Shut up, I needed a distraction,” Dean says as he starts to hobble away. Cas tosses his keys in the bowl by the door and rushes to follow Dean. Dean reaches the kitchen and grabs the dishes to dry.

“Wow okay let’s not do that anymore,” Cas says as he grabs the plate from Dean’s hand, who starts to protest. “You’ve been standing too long, I’ll do the rest. You need to sit.” 

“C’mon Cas, five more minutes won’t kill me,” Dean says.

Cas sighs knowing how hard it is to win a fight with Dean. “Fine, but I’ll put them away, you just dry,” Cas says.

Dean nods and takes the plate from Cas, drying it and handing it back.

“What do you want for dinner?” Cas asks as he puts dishes away.

“Doesn’t matter, what do you have in the fridge? Maybe I can whip something up for us.” 

Cas looks at him sheepishly, “Nothing, haven’t had time for shopping.” 

Dean rolls his eyes, “Excuses, excuses. There is always time. You just want to eat out all the time.”

“That is not true!” Cas exclaims.

“Yes, it is, Cas. Don’t even try to deny it. If you keep eating like that, you’re gonna get fatter.” Dean teases.

“Hey! I am not fat!” Cas squawks and levels a glare at the other man.

“Yea, not yet, but you will be.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. Make me a list. I’ll go tomorrow after work,” Cas grumbles.

Dean smiles, and nods. “Well what do you want to do for today?” 

“Well, I think I’ve got some pasta sauce and some sort of pasta…” Cas trails off as he goes over to the fridge and buries his head in it.

“You really aren’t a cooking person, are you?” Dean asks, smiling softly at Castiel’s back.

“Yeah, no, not really.” He says, as his hand reappears with a glass bottle of half used pasta sauce.

“Okay, I think I can do something with this,” Dean says as he reaches to take the jar from him.

“No. Let me. Just tell me what to do from over there,” Cas says as he points to the kitchen barstool.

Dean sighs and rolls his eyes. “Fine.” He drags the barstool around to the other side to be closer and sits down. “Okay, so where is the pasta you’ve got?”

Castiel goes and grabs it out of the cabinet and places it on the counter.

“Okay so, grab a pot and place it on the stove and add water. Also, add like a teaspoon of salt and some oil.” Dean explains.

“Oil?” Cas asks.

“So the pasta doesn’t stick together.”

Cas thinks about it for a second and then hums his agreement.

He does as Dean explains and soon enough their food is ready. They sit on the barstools and Cas serves up their food.

“You want a drink?” Cas asks Dean.

“Uhm…”

“Wait, you can’t. You aren’t supposed to with the medication you are taking.” Cas says.

Dean is surprised to know how much Cas cares and knows about him and his medications.

“Is juice okay?” He asks.

Dean nods.

Cas pours some juice in a glass and gives it to him and opens a beer for himself.

“Thanks, Cas,” Dean says as he Castiel sits down beside him.

They dig in and Castiel moans loudly after the first bite.

“Holy shit! This is good,” Cas exclaims and shoves another bite into his mouth.

Dean blushes at Castiel’s sinful moan and turns to look at him.

“Cas, it’s just simple pasta,” Dean says, smirking slightly. “And you did all the work.” 

“Yeah, well, whenever I try making food alone, it does _not_ turn out like this,” Cas says.

Dean smiles lovingly at him, “Well, I’m here now. No more takeout.”

Cas looks at him and smiles back.

They finish up with dinner and go over to the couch to watch some TV.

“You don’t want to sleep do you?” Cas asks Dean, once they settle down on the couch.

“Nah, I’m good. I already slept for way too long today,” Dean says as he shifts beside Cas, trying to find a comfortable position.

Castiel nods, “Well, you want to watch a movie?” 

“Don’t you have to go to work early tomorrow?” Dean shoots back.

“No, I’m going late tomorrow, they let me go late because I went in today,” Cas says.

Dean nods. “In that case, sure.”

They pick out a movie and Cas gets up to put it in the DVD player, dimming down the lights on his way back. He also grabs Dean’s meds and gives it to Dean.

“These ones might make you sleepy,” Cas says.

Dean sighs but takes the meds from Castiel.

“What’s wrong?” Cas asks, sitting beside Dean.

“Nothing, just, these meds are messing me all up,” Dean says.

Castiel nods, “Yeah, you’re gonna feel a little off for a couple of days, you also have to work the morphine out of your system as well. You were on some pretty strong meds.”

Dean nods and rests his head on Castiel’s shoulder as they settle in to watch the movie.

*

Halfway through the movie Dean can barely keep his eyes open.

Castiel looks over to Dean and notices his drooping eyes. He nudges Dean lightly with his shoulder. Dean forces his head up and looks over at Cas, eyelids feeling heavy.

“You wanna sleep?” Cas asks.

Dean nods and then leans his head back down on Castiel’s shoulder.

Cas nudges him again, smiling, “Not here, Dean. Let’s get you to bed,” Cas says, standing up.

Dean slumps over to where Cas was sitting. Cas grabs his shoulder and pulls him upright.

He helps Dean stand and Dean literally shoves his face into Castiel’s chest, putting all his weight into his arms.

Cas lets out a little ‘oopmf’ before balancing them both and holding Dean tightly.

“Dean…” Cas starts.

Dean just grunts in response.

“Dean, you gotta help me out here.”

Dean grunts again.

Cas sighs and just bends down to get his arm behind Dean’s knees and lifts the sleepy man into his arms.

Dean blinks his eyes open and looks up at Cas. He hooks one arm around his neck and places the other on Castiel’s chest. He moves it up and down, stroking Cas’ chest softly.

“You’re so strong,” Dean mumbles out in his sleepy state, before leaning his head on Cas’ chest and closing his eyes.

Cas smiles softly and carries Dean to his room and lays him down on his bed. Dean blinks his eyes open again and pushes at his sweatpants.

“’m hot,” he complains.

Cas grabs the ends of his sweats and helps him pull them off. He leans over to grab a pillow to take with him to go sleep on the couch when Dean grabs his arm.

“Where you goin?” He asks.

“Couch? I only have one bed, Dean.”

“Yes, and we are both adults. I think we can share a bed. There is plenty of room for both of us,” he says, attempting to wiggle his eyebrows but failing in his sleepiness.

Cas stifles his laugh and nods. Dean smiles sleepily, looking completely at home and Cas wonders what it would be like to see Dean like this for the rest of his life.

He goes to the bathroom quickly before climbing into the bed beside Dean.

“Goodnight, Dean,” Cas whispers and he gets a soft snore in response.

He closes his eyes and quickly falls asleep.

*

Cas blinks himself awake. It’s still dark out and he wonders what had awakened him. Then he hears Dean beside him, moaning and cursing as quietly as he can.

He sits up and looks over at Dean.

“Dean?” He could see Dean wiggling around in the dark. He leans to the side and turns the lights on. He turns back to Dean and notices his teary eyes. “Dean?! What’s wrong?” 

“Fuck, my leg is killing me. It hurts so bad.” Dean whimpers, burying his head in the pillow and biting it.

“Shit let me take a look,” Cas says, rolling over onto his knees and placing his hands lightly on Dean’s thigh over the covers.

“Ah fuck, no! Don’t touch it! Please.” Dean sobs out, clutching the pillow tighter with one hand and the other gripping the duvet against his chest, not letting Cas pull it away.

“Dean, you have to let me look. It shouldn’t be hurting this bad,” Cas says, heart breaking at Dean’s pain.

“It hurts…” Dean mumbles, taking deep breaths.

“I know, Dean, baby, just let me look,” Cas says, the endearment slipping out on its own.

Dean loosens his grip in his surprise and Cas pulls the covers away.

Since Dean had taken his sweats off before they went to sleep, they thankfully didn’t have to deal with wrestling them off. As Cas settles back down next to Dean, he notices that blood had seeped through the bandage. He unwraps it and gently peels it off, then reaches to the non-stick cotton pad and starts to peel it back as well. Dean hisses in pain and grabs Castiel’s wrist, stilling him. 

“Cas! Fuck! Ow!” Dean closes his eyes tightly and a couple tears slip out towards his hairline.

“I’m sorry, shh! It’s okay, you’re fine. Just keep breathing,” Cas says trying to be as soothing as possible, he rubs Dean’s other leg in what he hopes is a soothing manner. He looks at the wound and it seems to be a little irritated but nothing too major, nothing that should cause Dean this much pain.

“Dean, Dean, look at me,” Cas says.

Dean opens his eyes and looks at Cas.

“You’re going to be okay, okay? I’m gonna go call the doctor and ask him what I need to do.” Cas says.

Dean nods. “Hurry please,” he says, voice cracking.

Cas nods, grabs his phone, and calls the doctor. He explains the situation and the doctor asks whether Dean had been walking or doing any excessive standing. Cas thinks about it and remembers that Dean had done the dishes; who knows how long he had been standing there and worrying about him.

He answers in the affirmative, and the doctor tells him to give Dean the higher dose of pain killers. He thanks him and hangs up before getting the amber bottle with the pain killers and a glass of water. He goes back to the room and Dean has his fists clenched tightly.

“Hey, Dean, relax, just relax. It’s nothing major,” Cas says as he quickly walks over to Dean and places the medication and water on the bedside table beside Dean. He grabs Dean’s hand and rubs it until he unclenches his fist.

“The doctor said you’re in pain because you got released so quickly so they took you off morphine or else you would still be on it. Also, because you did a lot of standing today. I’m sorry this is all my fault.” Cas says, holding Dean’s hand and averting his gaze.

“Why is it your fault?” Dean asks, cracking an eye open to look at Castiel.

“I should have told you where I was going. I made you worry. I’m sorry…” Cas says.

“Hey, no, none of that.” Dean whispers, cupping Cas’ jaw and turning his face towards his own. “It’s not your fault.”

He clenches his teeth and closes his eyes when he feels the sharp stab of pain lancing through his leg again.

“Shit.” Cas quickly shakes out a double dose of the pain meds and hands them to Dean, along with the glass of water.

“Here, take this. It should help with the pain and help you fall asleep again.” Cas says as he helps Dean sit up. Dean quickly throws back the meds and drinks the water. Cas sits back on the bed and pulls Dean towards himself. They slide down and Dean tentatively places his head on Castiel’s shoulder and his injured leg on Cas’ legs. It relieves some of the pressure and Dean sighs in relief.

“Is this okay?” he asks in a small voice.

Cas wraps his arms around Dean and buries his nose in Dean’s hair. “Yeah,” he breathes the smell of Dean in, letting it ground him. 

He turns the lights off and rubs his hand over Dean’s back, hoping it relaxes him. Dean buries his head in the crook of Cas’ neck and closes his eyes, trying not to think about the pain. Instead, he focuses on Castiel’s soothing hand on his back. If only he could have this forever.

*

The next morning Dean wakes up first and slides his leg down slowly to straighten it out. He notices he’s still pressed up against Castiel, his upper body draped over the other man. He blinks a couple of times to wake up completely. He looks up and sees his face is inches from Castiel’s. Cas is laying peacefully beside him, face soft and relaxed.

He takes a couple minutes to just watch Cas sleep, as creepy as that may be, but he doesn’t really get many chances just to look at him. Cas always has a grim and serious expression which makes him look scary at times but seeing him like this, all innocent and relaxed, was refreshing.

He lifts his hand and runs a hand over Castiel’s cheek as softly as he could, so as not to disturb him. Still, Castiel’s eyes flutter and he opens them, blinking against the harsh light.

He gives Dean a lazy smile and Dean’s heart flutters. He thinks of what it would be like for Cas to give him the same smile right after they had fooled around in bed.

Dean smiles back and rolls onto his back.

“Did you sleep okay?” Cas asks in a deep, gravelly, sleep-hoarse voice.

Dean shivers at the deepness of Castiel’s voice. “Yeah I did, thank you for looking after me Cas. I appreciate it.” Dean says as he rubs his cheek on Cas’ shirt.

“It’s my job to look after my team,” Cas says simply.

Dean stills and frowns. “Is that all I am to you? A teammate?” Dean asks suddenly, having no idea where this sudden boldness was coming from.

Cas meets Dean’s gaze and his brows furrow, “What do you mean?”

Dean sits up on the bed and Cas follows.

“Dean?” Cas frowns.

“Never mind, forget I said anything,” Dean says as he struggles out of the bed. He swings his legs over the side of the bed facing away from Cas. Cas quickly gets out of bed and goes around to Dean’s side and crouches down in front of him. He places a gentle hand on Dean’s knee.

“Dean talk to me,” Cas says, looking up into Dean’s eyes.

“There’s nothing to talk about because you clearly don’t want anything more, I guess I was just reading too much into things,” Dean says, running a hand through his hair.

“Dean, it’s not that I don’t want you, because I do. More than anything,” Cas pauses, and Dean watches him quietly.

Cas drops his gaze and looks at his hands, on Dean’s thighs. Dean hooks his fingers under Castiel’s chin and lifts his face up.

“Then what? What is it, that’s got you too afraid to get close to someone. What happened that you won’t let me in or near you!” Dean growls out, feeling frustrated. These medications weren’t helping with his moods and anger.

Cas stands up and turns away from Dean, looking outside at the water.

“I can’t Dean, I just… can’t,” Cas says before walking into the bathroom and slamming the door behind him.

Dean watches him go and clenches his fists in anger.

“CAS!” Dean yells out, “Come out here and talk to me. You can’t keep avoiding this. You said we would talk about later in the hospital, it’s later, now talk to me!” 

*

Cas leans his head back against the bathroom door and takes a deep breath. He can hear Dean yelling at him, but he doesn’t have it in him to tell Dean what happened in his past that has him too scared for a commitment.

His eyebrows furrow when he hears Dean talking about the hospital. He sighs and runs a hand over his face. Dean was right, they need to talk about this. Dean deserves to know. If he is so committed and wants something with him, he deserves to know.

He opens the door and walks out of the bathroom. Dean looks up at him in surprise, not expecting him to actually come back out.

“I thought you didn’t remember what happened that night?” Cas questions softly.

“Yeah, well I lied. Now, are you gonna be a man and talk about it?” Dean asks, taunting him, trying to get a reaction out of him.

It works, Castiel’s eyes narrow and a growl escapes his lips. Dean raises his eyebrow and Cas looks away.

“What do you want to know?” Cas asks.

“I want to know why you don’t want to be with me,” Dean says from his position on the bed.

Cas’ eyes shoot back to Deans. “Dean, we talked about this, I do want to be with you.”

“Then why are you hesitant, why are you scared,” Dean asks.

“I’m not scared,” Cas says, clenching his fists.

Dean notices his clenched fists and hopes Cas won’t lash out.

“You are Cas, and just know that I’m here for you, whenever you want to talk,” Dean says quietly. He forces himself up and hobbles over to the washroom. He comes out a couple minutes later and Cas is still standing in the same spot looking out the window.

Dean sighs and heads to the kitchen. He starts to make a quick and simple breakfast for them both.

Cas joins him about ten minutes later.

“I was 18 when I met her. She was the most amazing person…” Cas starts. Dean turns around and looks at him.

Cas goes to the barstool and sits down. He looks at Dean who nods at him to continue.

“Her name was Meg and I quickly fell head over heels for her. I was also getting ready to apply for the police department at the time. I was accepted, and we celebrated. We were always on and off but after 5 years and we were getting serious. I had a plan to propose to her one night, but I got called in and since I was still a junior I couldn’t refuse. I told her to wait for me at my apartment and she agreed. She thought I would be gone a while and she still agreed to wait for me. I felt like the luckiest person in the world. When I got home, I had the ring tucked in my pocket. I looked around my house I didn’t see her, I went to the bedroom and saw her with another man having sex on my fucking bed. I was heartbroken, I gave her my heart and she just…” Cas trails off, blinking hard.

Dean finds his way around the island counter and comes to stand in front of Cas, in between his spread legs. He cups Castiel’s face and tilts his head up. He sees his red-rimmed eyes and his heart breaks for Cas, for this gentle man who’d had his heart torn from his chest.

He pulls Cas in close and wraps his arms around his shoulders. Cas buries his face into his chest and wraps his arms around Dean’s middle. He cards a hand through Cas’ hair.

“I’m sorry Cas. I had no idea, but you must know; I’m not her. I would _never_ do that to you, Cas, and anyone who would ever cheat on you is a fucking idiot. They’d be stupid not to see the most amazing, beautiful, incredible, _strong_ person you are. You’re so brave and you don’t think twice before putting yourself at risk to help others. It’s one of the many things I adore about you.”

Cas pulls back from Dean and looks up at him. “Thank you, Dean. You’re right, I am scared. But I know you would never do anything like that.” Cas whispers hoarsely.

Dean hums in agreement before making up his mind and leaning down. He presses his lips to Cas’ gingerly, afraid to get rejected. He moves back when Cas doesn’t respond. Dean blinks open his eyes and looks down at Cas. Cas had no expression on his face and Dean’s heart sinks.

“I’m sorry, Cas. Sir. That was highly inappropriate of me. I just thought…” Dean trails off, panicking. He starts to step back when Castiel stands and grabs hold of him.

“Hey, no, no. Dean, relax. It’s okay. Shh. It’s okay. I was just caught off guard,” Cas says as he pulls him back towards him. Dean stumbles forward and Cas steadies him. “I’m more scared for you then I am for myself.” Cas murmurs, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes.

“Why?”

“I don’t think I can be the person you need me to be,” Cas replies, voice flat.

Dean blinks. “What do you mean.”

“I just, there must have been a reason that Meg decided to cheat on me,” Cas says.

“Cas look at me,” Dean says sternly.

Cas opens his eyes and looks at Dean. Dean cups his face and keeps a firm grip on him.

“I need you to listen to me. What Meg did- that is not your fault, it will never be your fault, and I won’t have you blaming yourself for something she did, you hear me? You are amazing and the only person I want you to be is yourself, whether we get together or not. Understand?” Dean commands, giving his head a little shake to get his point across.

Cas nods hesitantly.

“Cas, you have to understand she manipulated you and probably said things to make you feel like it was your fault. Am I right?” Dean asks.

Cas doesn’t answer but avoids Dean’s gaze which is answer enough.

“What did she say, sweetheart?” Dean asks in a soft and soothing voice.

Cas looks at him in surprise at the pet name.

Dean just gives a nod of encouragement.

“She told me I wasn’t satisfying her, that I loved my job more than I loved her, that I wasn’t good enough for her and didn’t deserve her love, and in a way, she was probably right,” Cas says, trailing off.

“CAS! Stop it! I don’t want you thinking down on yourself. I’m glad that bitch is out of your life. She is the one who didn’t deserve you, and I have no doubt that your satisfactory levels are above average.” Dean says, waggling his eyebrows at the end.

Cas blushes and looks away and Dean smiles. He pushes Cas back down on the barstool and then leans into him so Cas is taking all his weight.

Dean leans in again and presses his lips softly to Castiel’s. This time Cas doesn’t hesitate and kisses back, wrapping his arms around Dean’s waist and pulling him closer.

Dean slips his hand in Cas’ hair and clenches his hand in a fist near the roots, creating pressure and fisting his other hand near the collar of his shirt and tugging him closer, encouraging Cas to kiss him harder.

Cas gets the message and presses his lips harder against Dean’s. They work their lips back and forth, enjoying the slick slide. Dean parts his lips against Castiel’s mouth and Cas follows. He licks Dean’s lower lip before nipping it ever so slightly.

Dean lets out a whimper and presses himself closer to Castiel’s body while pulling Cas to himself.

Dean breaks the kiss and tilts his head up, breathing heavily. He looks down at Cas and takes in his flushed face and dilated eyes, which were watching him hungrily. He looks absolutely debauched and Dean nearly whimpers again.

“As much as I would like to continue this, I don’t think I can stand any longer,” Dean pants, voice rough.

In a single fluid movement, Castiel is off the barstool, grabs Dean around the waist and spins him around, lifting him onto the barstool. “I’m sorry. I forgot about your leg. Are you okay?” Cas asks, eyebrows furrowing together.

“I meant cause of your incredible kissing, but yeah, I’m fine,” Dean says, smirking.

Cas blushes and scratches the back of his head.

Dean smiles and uses Castiel’s shirt to pull him down, before pressing a chaste but firm kiss on his lips.

“You think maybe we should go on a date?” Cas asks, after pulling back.

Dean lets out a small laugh, “Don’t you think we’re a bit past all that, sir?” He teases.

Cas blushes again.

“I mean, I’ve made you dinner multiple times, and washed your dishes even more than that, since you hate doing them,” Dean says. “At this point, I think we’re even past the third date stage.”

“I do not hate doing them,” Cas whines.

“You do, don’t even lie,” Dean says, smiling.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I need coffee.” Cas grumbles, moving away from Dean.

“It’s ready on the coffee maker,” Dean says. “I think this is the first time you’ve functioned normally before coffee.”

He only knows this because he and his team have bunked over at each other’s houses many times and Cas is a genuine zombie until he’s downed at least one cup of coffee.

“Yeah, well the situation called for it,” Cas says.

“Situation huh?” Dean asks, raising an eyebrow. “If I hadn’t made you talk, you would have never gotten your head out of your ass.”

“Is that how you talk to your ‘sir’?” Cas asks, teasing him as he reaches into the cabinet for his mug.

“Sir huh?” Dean stands up and limps over to Cas. “You’re only my ‘sir’ at work and maybe in bed, if you’re lucky,” Dean says, winking and the dark-haired man.

Cas looks at him in surprise and feels himself harden as that particular thought shoots straight to his dick.

“But here and now, you are my boyfriend.” Dean says, putting his arms around Cas’ shoulders.

Cas stills, arm still stretched out towards the coffee pot, and blinks at Dean, “Boyfriend?”

Dean looks at him and sees the hopeful look gleaming in his eyes.

“Yes, boyfriend. If that’s what you want?” 

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Cas says, and turns into Dean’s chest, wrapping his arms around Dean’s waist.

“Good, because I’d like that too,” Dean says, kissing him.

“I just want you to know before we get too far into this, that I might not be exactly who you need me to be, I may not be the best boyfriend, but I’ll do my best to keep you happy and take care of you,” Cas says.

“Like I said before Cas, I only need you to be yourself. Besides, you’ve been keeping me happy and taking care of me for as long as I can remember.” Dean says, pulling Castiel into a hug.

Cas nods and relaxes into his embrace.

“Now, let’s eat. I’m hungry.” Dean says.

*

Since Castiel has the day off, they decide to take it easy for once. Or rather, Dean _forces_ Castiel to take it easy.

“Dean! I can’t. I don’t have time to take it easy.” Cas complains as Dean shoves him towards the couch.

“Cas, c’mon. One day isn’t going to kill us.” 

“You don’t know that. It might.” Cas retorts.

“That’s not funny, Cas.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be.”

Dean rolls his eyes. “Please Cas, C’mon. For me. You’ve been working your ass off the past week and a half. You need to relax.”

Cas huffs a sigh, “Fine. What do you wanna do?” 

“Nothing. That’s the whole point of relaxing.” Dean says.

“But… I can’t just do nothing.”

“You are not a sitting at home type of person, are you?” Dean says, “Always buried in work.”

“Dean.” Castiel draws out the name on a whine.

“Okay okay, fine. Let’s go out then.” Dean says.

“But you can’t walk.” Cas points out.

Dean bristles and hastens to defend himself. “I can walk!” 

“I mean, you _were_ shot like two days ago…” 

“Cas, I think I know my limits, I’m fine,” Dean says.

Cas gives up, and huffs again. “Fine, where do you want to go?” 

“Let’s go for a drive. That way I won’t be walking either.”

“You think you can sit that long in a car?” Cas starts again.

“Cas! Stop mother-henning me, I’m fine.” Dean barks, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Okay, Okay.” Cas holds his hands up in a surrendering motion, “Let's go.”

“Thank you,” Dean says leaning over and pecking Castiel’s lips briefly.

Castiel blinks dazedly as he watches Dean go; the open affection they are allowed to show each other now is going to take some getting used to.

Dean hobbles into the room to get ready, only realizing once he has his head halfway through his new shirt that he just kissed Castiel and it had come so easily. He quickly pulls his shirt on and rushes outside as quick as he could with a stitched-up bullet hole in his leg.

He sees Cas still standing in the same spot with a dazed expression on his face.

“Cas?” Dean slowly approaches him, and Cas turns towards Dean, “Are you okay?” 

Cas just nods. Dean steps up to him and takes his hands in his own, “You sure, babe?” He asks softly.

“I… uh… yeah, I’m fine.” Cas says, pulling his hands out of Dean’s and turning to face the windows.

“No, you’re not. What’s wrong? Is it because I kissed you?” Dean asks, crossing his arms over his chest, getting self-conscious.

“No… yes… I don’t know. I… just… it’s going to take some time to get used to the fact that someone actually wants me.” Cas says.

Dean uncrosses his arms and steps up to Castiel’s side and faces him. He places his hand on his shoulder, “Take all the time you need, and I’ll be here to remind you every day that I’m here for you,” he says as he leans in and kisses Cas’ cheek, soft lips brushing rough stubble.

Cas wraps an arm around Dean’s waist, who still has his chest pressed against Cas’ side.

“Thank you, Dean.”

Dean smiles, “C’mon, now let’s go.” 

Cas nods and they get ready, Cas bulling Dean into letting him change the bandages before they head out.

*

“Crap, I forgot about these damn stairs,” Dean whines as he looks at the stairs in question.

Cas huffs a laugh and lifts Dean bridal style and carries him down the stairs.

“Better watch your back Cas, you aren’t as young as you used to be.” Dean teases, lazily wrapping his arms around Cas’ neck, teasing the hairs at the nape of his neck with his fingers.

“Shut up.” Cas grumbles, “I’m fine.”

Dean laughs, a soft sincere laugh that Cas could listen to forever.

*

“Where are we going?” Cas asks as he starts his car. She gives a satisfying rumble as she starts.

“I don’t know, just find some backroad and let’s go,” Dean says.

Cas nods his agreement and backs out of his parking spot. They drive for about an hour until Cas stops for gas. Dean gets out of the car and heads inside.

“Where are you going?” Cas asks as he raises his head from what he was doing.

“Bathroom.” 

Cas gives a nod and lets Dean go.

Dean comes back a couple minutes later with a six-pack of beer, some juice for himself and some snacks in his hands.

Cas raises his eyebrow in question.

“There is a nice secluded place with a lake view just twenty minutes out. Thought we’d give it a shot.” Dean says.

“Alright, you know the directions?” he asks.

“Yep, got em,” Dean says.

They get back in the car and head towards the place, Cas puts his car in park and they get out.

Turns out the place was a ‘No Trespassing’ type of place and it was an abandoned dock about a two-minute walk through some long-overgrown grass.

Cas looks towards Dean who sighs.

“Crap, I should’ve known better, the guy was a teenager, they probably come here to get stoned.” Dean groans.

A small smirk appears on Castiel’s face as he watches Dean.

“Cas, why are you smiling like that?” Dean asks, “You’re scaring me.”

“C’mon let’s go,” Cas says.

“Where?” Dean asks, confused.

“To the lake.”

“It says ‘No trespassing’, Cas,” Dean says, gesturing towards the sign.

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Cas teases.

“Cas, you are a cop.” Dean points out.

“And…”

“And I do not expect this kind of behavior from you. We are supposed to arrest people who trespass not do the trespassing! Usually _I’m_ the one making choices like this not you.” Dean says.

Cas shrugs, “We’re not doing any harm and it’s not like anyone’s living here.” He says as he starts walking through the tall dead grass with the drinks and snacks in his hand.

“Cas!” Dean yells after him. He shakes his head and follows him.

They get to the dock and both gasp at the view. They take a minute to soak it in. 

“I take it back; those teens probably bring their partners here and probably do more than just get stoned,” Dean says, gaping at the stunning view.

Castiel snorts, “You mean they probably have sex here.” He says, glancing towards Dean.

Dean looks at him and blushes. “Yeah, probably. It is pretty secluded.”

“Hmm, kinky,” Cas says and Dean blushes harder.

Cas notices the tint on his cheeks and decides to tease him some more. “Is that something you’re interested in?” 

Dean pauses and looks at him, “What do you mean?”

“Voyeurism? Being outdoors having sex, where anyone could see you?” Cas asks, stepping closer to Dean, voice dropping an octave.

Dean adverts his gaze and his heartbeat picks up. Cas was looking at him like he wanted to devour him, and it was setting butterflies alight in his stomach.

“I… uhm… I don’t know…” Dean responds.

Cas chuckles, rough and deep and Dean shivers. “I’m just teasing, Dean.”

“It might be…” Dean says the same time Cas says he’s teasing him.

Castiel’s eyes shoot up to meet Dean’s. Cas feels his dick twitch in interest and his eyes widen. “What, really?” Cas asks.

Dean scratches the back of his neck, he could feel the flush on his cheeks spreading to his neck and shoulders. “I mean, I’ve never done it before but a secluded place like this, it seems kinda of exciting, y’know,” Dean says; he was being honest. Cas had trusted him and told him everything and now it was his turn. Dean didn’t want to lie. Even though Cas might think he was creepy or disgusting.

Cas surprises him by saying, “I can see the appeal,” as he looks around and takes in the view.

That was the end of that and they go over and sit down at the edge of the dock. Dean opens a beer and hands it to Cas who accepts it gratefully.

“How’s your leg?” Cas asks as Dean opens up his juice.

“It’s good, just a dull throb. Not too bad,” Dean says as he takes a swig from the bottle.

Cas nods and looks straight again. They eat the snacks and enjoy their drinks and just talk about life in general.

“I’m worried about our team,” Cas says.

“Hey, no. None of that. Not today. We are relaxing. No work talk,” Dean stops him before he could start.

Cas sighs, “Fine, okay.” He lays down on the dock.

“Cas, we’ll get ‘em, okay?” Dean says as pulls Cas’ arm out straight, so he could lay on his chest.

Cas lets Dean lay down and then curls his arm around his back, scratching it idly. He nods against Dean’s head.

Dean raises his head to look up at Cas and Cas feels his hair tickling his chin. He looks down and runs his fingers softly down Dean’s spine, Dean closes his eyes and his mouth parts at the sensation.

Cas uses his other hand to trace his thumb over Dean’s lips.

Dean opens his eyes and licks his lips causing his tongue to graze Cas’ thumb as well.

Castiel’s eyes darken and he tilts Dean’s head higher by the chin. He leans down and brushes his lips against Dean’s.

Dean grabs onto Castiel’s shirt as he pulls himself higher on his chest. He leans in and presses his lips harder against Castiel’s.

“I could really get used to this,” Cas says, sighing and tilting his head back to look at the sky.

“Yeah, so could I,” Dean answers, laying his head across Castiel’s chest again.

Castiel tightens his hold on Dean and they lay there together, enjoying the sounds of the lake and the warmth of the afternoon. Without realizing it they both drift off into a light slumber, only waking when the sky was lit like fire and the sun was about to set. Dean stirs and shakes Castiel as he sits up.

“Wha?” Cas asks, waking up abruptly.

“We fell asleep,” Dean says as he stretches.

Cas follows suit and looks around. “Wow, this looks so beautiful,” He breathes out.

Dean nods, sighing deeply.

“You wanna stay for the sunset, then we’ll head out and maybe grab some dinner on the way home?” Cas asks.

Dean nods, heart fluttering at the way Cas had called his apartment ‘home’ instead of ‘my home’ or ‘my house’. He snuggles into Castiel’s side again and they watch the sun’s rays bouncing off the water as it sinks into the horizon.

*

As they gather their trash and pack up to go, they hear rustling in the distance that gets louder as the unknown person gets closer. 

Cas falls back on his training, and reaches under his shirt, pulling out his handgun from the holster at the small of his back. He clicks off the safety and stands up, making sure to place himself between the advancing threat and Dean. Dean heaves himself to his feet and eyes the gun where Cas has it pointed at the ground. He’s watching the area where the sounds are coming from with a laser focus.

As they watch, tense, two teenagers come bursting through the overgrown grass, lips locked together as they stumble down the dock.

“Fuck, I wanna fuck you so hard, baby girl.” The guy moans.

Cas immediately puts the safety back on and holsters his gun, pulling his shirt back down to cover it.

Dean blushes at the guy’s bluntness, seeing them so lost in each other they don’t even realize they have company.

Cas coughs loudly and they finally break apart, the girl lets out a startled gasp and guy moving to place himself in front of her and the two random guys they had encountered.

Cas holds up his hands, “Relax, we aren’t gonna hurt you. We were just leaving.” 

Dean grabs their garbage and the kids eyes them warily. Damn, this was awkward, Dean just wants to get out of there. Cas, on the other hand, looks quite amused, surprising Dean since it’s usually Cas who was the awkward one out of the two of them.

“You guys be safe out here, alright?” Cas says as he places a hand on the small of Dean’s back and gives him a small push, so he was in front.

They nod, relaxing slightly.

“You guys got protection?” Cas asks.

“Cas!!” Dean hisses out, feeling embarrassed for them.

“What? It’s a natural act.” Cas points out.

The two teens look at each other in horror as they realize they, in fact, don’t have protection.

“Shit…” The guy murmurs out.

Cas chuckles and the guy gives him a glare. Cas reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. He opens it and grabs a condom tucked into the side. He tosses it to the guy, who catches it out of reflex.

“It’s an XXL, hopefully, it fits,” Cas says, putting his wallet back into his pocket.

Dean blushes again when he realizes how big Cas is.

The girl’s eyes go wide as her eyes drop down to Castiel’s pants. She eyes him appreciatively and bites her bottom lip. Dean growls at her and steps in front of Cas and her eyes shoot back up, giving him an apologetic shrug.

“Alright, be safe,” Cas says before they leave the two alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do y'all think of the Cas' backstory? 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, thank you for sticking with us till now and remember,
> 
> Kudos are love
> 
> Comments keep us going. 
> 
> Love all y'all <3
> 
> Keep being awesome.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, you know how life is... an annoying piece of shit sometimes.  
> So I (Gem) am back in school and Wargurl is buried under work, so updates are going to slow down. We’ll be shooting for a chapter every two weeks.  
> Enjoy the fluff to make up for it! :D ;)

Once they were out of earshot, Dean turns and looks at Castiel.

“What?” Cas asks.

“Dude, you brought your fucking gun?”

Cas shrugs.

“On our day off? Casss, we’re supposed to be relaxing,” Dean whines.

“Yes, but we have impending doom over our heads.” Cas helpfully points out.

“Impending doom?” Dean snorts, “Right.”

“Shut up.” Cas grumbles.

“How were you even laying down with that gun poking at your back?” Dean asks.

“Habit, I guess that’s what happens when you’re a cop almost all of your adult life,” Cas answers as they reach the car and get in.

“Also, can I ask why you have condoms in your wallet?” Dean asks as he settles in the car, looking towards Castiel.

Castiel looks to him and smirks, “Jealous?”

Dean rolls his eyes fondly, “That’s your job, not mine.” Dean says.

“Really now? Because I wasn’t the one moving in front of you and growling at a teenager.” Cas says.

Dean looks at Cas in mock anger. “I’m just curious, why did you need condoms?” Dean asks, not letting Cas change the subject, “Because you don’t look like the one-night-stand type of guy, or are you?” Dean questions.

“...and if I was?” Cas asks quietly.

Dean looks at him in shock. “Well, then there is a  _ lot  _ more than I thought that I don’t know about you.”

“I’m just kidding, my brother bought them as a joke, gave them to me as a joke in front of these girls to get me laid,” Cas explains.

“Did it work?” Dean asks.

“No.” 

“So, you aren’t an XXL?”

“Oh, I definitely am,” Cas says, eyes twinkling with mischief.

Dean’s eyes go wide as his eyes drop down to Castiel’s lap.

“My eyes are up here, sweetheart,” Cas teases as he gestures to his face with his hand.

Dean’s eyes shoot up and he looks Cas in the eyes, stomach flipping at the endearment.

Cas leans over so they are mere inches apart and cups Dean’s face. “Don’t worry, you can do whatever you want with this,” he gestures at his lap, “Once you get better.”

“Yeah?” Dean asks, smirking as his eyes drop down to Castiel’s lips.

Castiel’s eyes also drop down to Dean’s lips. “Yeah,” he breathes out.

Dean smiles fully before pressing his lips firmly against Castiel’s.

“Good, now let’s go eat, I’m hungry.” Dean says after they move apart.

*

They get home at around 11:30 pm and Dean was feeling pretty sore by that point. He hobbles through the door way wincing with each step.

“You okay?” Cas asks, concern marring his face.

“Little sore,” Dean says. “I’ll be fine. You gotta work tomorrow?”

“Yeah, early shift,” Cas makes a face full of disgruntlement. He walks over to the kitchen and fills up a glass of water, grabs Dean’s pills and comes back to him.

“Here,” he says, holding out the pills and water.

Dean takes the pills and water, “Thanks, Cas. You should sleep. I’ll wash this and I’ll be right there.”

“Dean, it’s one glass. You don’t have to wash it now.” 

“I don’t like leaving things,” Dean says, shrugging.

“Yeah, or else you can’t sleep,” Cas says, fondly rolling his eyes.

“Shut up and go to bed.” Dean snarks back, making shooing motions at him.

Cas huffs a laugh and goes to the bedroom. He grabs his sleep clothes and heads to the bathroom. He brushes his teeth and then hops in the shower since he had to leave early and knew he was probably going to sleep in.

*

Dean rinses his glass and heads to the room. He grabs his clothes and changes into a pair of basketball shorts and forgoes a shirt, then heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He opens the door and walks in on Cas, who is naked behind the clear glass door. It’s slightly fogged up by the steam of the hot water but does nothing to hide the body behind it.

“Fuck! Sorry! I thought you were just brushing your teeth.” Dean yelps before turning around, but not before catching an eyeful of Castiel’s impressive body.

Cas just laughs loudly at Dean’s embarrassment, not even caring Dean walked in on him.

“Cas! It’s not funny. You don’t even care.” Dean whines.

“It’s okay Dean. We are dating, after all, you’re gonna see all this sooner or later.”

Dean turns back to face Cas, making sure to keep his eyes on Castiel’s face.

“Still, caught me off guard, Cas.” 

“Is that a good thing or bad?” he asks.

“Definitely good.” Dean says as he reaches for his toothbrush and the toothpaste.

He brushes his teeth and Cas grabs the towel, giving himself a courtesy wipe and wrapping the towel around his waist. He steps out of the shower and comes up behind Dean, wrapping his arms around his waist.

Dean straightens up and leans back against Castiel’s still wet chest.

He yelps when Castiel’s wet chest touches his back. “Fuck! Cas, wipe your damn body. The towel was invented for a reason,” he complains as he squirms away from Castiel’s chest.

“Sorry, habit,” Cas says as he steps away.

He reaches around Dean and grabs his own toothbrush. Dean moves to the side, letting Cas brush his teeth.

“Alright, I’m going to bed,” Dean says, kissing Cas on the cheek while he brushes his teeth.

Cas leans into him slightly and nods.

Dean heads out of the bathroom and lays down on his side. Funny he had only been here for one night and he already had a ‘side’.

He checks his phone and sees that he has a couple texts from his friends asking how he was and couple missed calls from Sam as well as a text.

Shit, who told him?

He replies to all his friends before opening the one from Sam.

**_What the hell Dean?! You got shot and I find out from Charlie? CALL ME!_ **

Dean shakes his head. Of course, it was Charlie.

He responds with:

**_I’m fine, bitch. Quit worrying. I’ll call you tomorrow. Goodnight._ **

He gets an almost instant reply from Sam:

**_You better, jerk. Goodnight._ **

He smiles, turns his phone off, and puts it on the bedside table. He pulls back the covers on the bed and lays down.

Cas joins him shortly and lays down beside him.

“Goodnight, Dean.” He says.

“Night, baby.” Dean replies.

Cas turns the lights off and they fall asleep.

*

The next morning Castiel’s alarm wakes Dean. He blinks open his eyes and reaches over Cas to turn it off before it could wake him. He places his hand on Cas’ chest and looks up at him. He thinks that Cas waking up by Dean would be better than him waking up by his annoying alarm clock.

He thought wrong.

“Babe, wake up.” Dean whispers out.

Cas groans loudly and flips onto his stomach, knocking Dean’s hand from his chest.

Dean pouts and places his hand on Castiel’s bare back, rubbing it up and down.

“Cas, you gotta go. You’re gonna be late,” he tries again.

Cas turns his head to face Dean and opens one eye, glaring at him.

“Hey, don’t give me that look. I’m just stating facts.” 

“No,” is all he says before snaking his arm around Dean and pulling him closer, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

“Cas!! Babe, up!” Dean laughs as Castiel’s stubble tickles his neck. He runs his hand through Cas’ hair.

He shifts and moves slightly away from Cas and Cas growls his displeasure at being jostled.

A shiver goes down Dean’s spine.

Cas pulls him back, closer this time so they were pressed together from shoulder to ankle. Cas had managed to position them both so that Dean’s back was plastered to Cas’ chest.

“Cas, I will not be held responsible for our boss yelling at you. Now, let me up.”

“Yeah, well I’m your boss and I’m telling you to stay in bed with me,” Cas whispers in a sleep wrecked voice.

Dean bites his lip at Castiel’s words and moves his hips back further instinctively. His ass brushes up against Castiel’s very much aroused dick. He gasps and his hips jerk on their own accord. Damn, Cas felt bigger than he looked.

“Cas…” Dean whimpers, grabbing hold of Castiel’s arm that was wound around him.

Cas blinks himself awake when he feels Dean’s ass rubbing against his dick.

His hand moves down to Dean’s hip and holds him in place.

“Dean,” he groans out.

Dean moans at the way Cas says his name. “Fuck,” he breathes out, grabbing Castiel’s hand and pulling him tighter against his body.

Cas nearly loses control hearing Dean moan.

“Fuck, Cas. Need you.” Dean whimpers out, grinding his ass back against Castiel.

Castiel’s breathing hitches. “Are you sure you want this?” Cas manages to ask, knowing that once he started he wouldn’t be able to stop.

“Yes, fuck yes. Please. Please sir,” Dean moans out, too far gone to realize what he was saying. Damn, these medications were making him sensitive to everything, like the doctor said they would. Most painkillers killed the sex drive but the meds Dean was on heightened everything.

Cas can’t help the growl that builds up and escapes him at Dean calling him ‘sir’. He yanks Dean closer and rocks his hips against Dean. He reaches around and drags his hand softly down Dean’s stomach.

Dean shivers at the sensation and moans loudly when Cas grips his cock over his boxers and shorts. He rocks his hips forwards and then back against Cas.

“Ca- Cas! Mhm, fuck. Harder.” Dean moans, tilting his head back and sneaking his hand to grip Cas’ hair.

Cas picks up the pace with both his hips and hand. He leans over and presses his lips to Dean’s neck, sucking and biting lightly.

Dean lets out a strangled “Fuck!” and with a surprised shout comes in his pants.

He grabs Castiel’s hand, which was now wet with the come that had soaked through his boxers and shorts, and drags it up over his chest and towards his mouth. He sucks two fingers in and licks off the come.

Castiel gasps at the sensation of his fingers in Dean’s mouth. His hips jerk, losing their rhythm as he comes in his boxers.

Dean rubs his ass against Cas’ dick, riding him through his orgasm. Cas hisses at the over stimulation and reaches for Dean’s hips to stop him.

Dean smirks and turns around carefully, keeping his leg in mind.

“Are you awake now?” he asks as he plants his lips on Castiel’s, kissing him firmly. He brings his hand up to cradle the other man’s face.

“Oh, I’m very much awake,” Cas responds once they break apart. “Although that’s not how I imagined our first time to be.” 

“Oh, and how did you imagine our first time would be?” Dean asks.

Cas blushes. “I imagined it to be slow and sweet, not rushed. I would have waited till you got better than taken you to dinner. Would’ve brought you back here after and then we would go to the deck and eat some dessert, pie preferably. We would lay on the recliners and enjoy the stars in the sky before I brought you inside and taken you to bed.”

Dean watches Cas paint the scene with a fondness in his eyes. He rolls over Castiel when he finishes and kisses him deeply. “You had me at pie, baby.” 

Castiel laughs and kisses him again before grimacing when their come covered shorts rub together. “Okay, I think it’s time for a shower.” 

Dean nods his agreement, “Except I can’t get my leg wet.” 

“Right…” Cas sits up and throws the covers to the side before getting out of bed. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

He goes to the bathroom and comes back a couple minutes later completely naked. He has a wet washcloth in his hands.

Dean blushes when he gets an eyeful of Cas.

“Alright, take everything off.” 

“You have no shame, do you?” Dean says, blushing.

“No, I do not. Now take your clothes off,” he says. “The washcloth is getting cold.”

Dean complies and Cas just stares at him for a while.

“Enjoying the view?” Dean finally asks, getting self-conscious.

“Very much so,” Cas answers.

He leans down and cleans Dean’s entire body. Dean shivers at the feather-light touches and moans when Castiel’s hand grazes his nipple.

Cas presses a kiss to his lips when he finishes and then straightens up again.

“Alright, I’m going to shower.”

Dean nods and snuggles back under the covers, still completely naked. It was cold in the apartment, sue him.

He falls asleep again and wakes to the sound of Castiel rummaging around in the safe beside the bed. He was completely dressed and ready to go, crouching beside the bed.

“Are you leaving?” Dean asks.

“Yes, just grabbing my gun.”

Dean nods.

Castiel locks the safe and stands up again, but before he can leave Dean grabs his hand and pulls him back down.

“Don’t I get a goodbye kiss?” Dean asks, sticking his lower lip out seductively.

Cas growls. “Stop tempting me to ravish you, especially since I know you are completely naked under there,” he says, eyes flickering over the blankets.

Dean licks his lips and pulls Cas in for a kiss by the back of his neck. “Be safe, kay?” 

Cas nods against Dean’s lips and then presses them back against Dean’s. He bites Dean’s bottom lip and sucks it into his mouth. Dean sucks in a startled gasp and Cas takes the chance to lick his way into Dean’s mouth.

Dean manages to gather enough willpower to push Cas away by placing a hand on his chest.

“Bye, Cas.” He says.

Cas sighs but stands straight. “Alright, fine. Kick me out of my own house, I see how it is,” Cas grumbles as he starts to walk out of the room.

“Bring me those groceries and I’ll make you dinner tonight, babe!” Dean calls after him, smiling at his boyfriend’s antics before snuggling back down into Cas’ pillow.

Cas pops back into the room.

“What?” Dean asks.

“The password for the safe is 23023, just in case. Be safe okay? There are people out for you too.” Cas says, crouching beside the bed near Dean’s head.

Dean nods, “I will, Cas.”

Cas nods before standing up, “I’ll show you where I keep the rest of my weapons around the apartment when I get home.”

“Ok. Please, just be careful.”

“I’ll do my best.” Cas says before actually leaving.

Dean sighs before he wills himself out of bed. He hobbles over to the bathroom and does his business before he heads to the kitchen to find something he could make himself breakfast with.

“Damn, Cas really needs to bring me those groceries,” he murmurs to himself as he rummages through the fridge.

He settles on a simple toast with strawberry jam.

*

To say that Dean was bored was putting it mildly. He wandered - limped - around the house. He watched movies until his head and eyes started hurting, then he made himself coffee and went out to the deck out looking the water. He also grabs the case files they were working on. He takes a seat on the lounge chairs and goes through everything hoping to be of help from home.

“Dean.”

Dean startles, almost knocking his cup from the armrest he had placed it on. He sits up and knocks half the files on his lap to the floor.

He looks up in alarm and sighs. “Dammit, Cas! Don’t do that,” he says, placing a hand on his heart and taking a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Cas says. “I couldn’t find you in the house. I got a bit worried. How long have you been out here?”

“What time is it?” Dean asks, looking up at Cas.

Cas looks at his watch, “6:30.”

“Eh, a while.” 

“Did you take your meds?”

Dean scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “No?” He says it almost as a question.

Cas sighs and goes back inside. He comes back a couple minutes later with water and Dean’s meds.

“This is why I didn’t let you go to your own house.”

“That and you wanted to get into my pants,” Dean says, accepting the medication.

“That’s nothing I’m gonna admit,” Cas says as he takes the glass and places it on the table.

Dean smirks and stands up slowly, wincing at the stiffness he felt from not moving for so long and probably because he didn’t take his medication on time.

He takes a step towards Castiel and stumbles as he feels a searing pain go down his leg. He groans before his leg gives out.

Castiel moves quickly and grabs Dean around the waist, pulling him up.

“Are you okay?”

“Just testin your reflexes, Cas,” Dean says, managing a smile.

“You are not funny.” Cas says rolling his eyes. “Can you walk?” 

Dean tries to bring the weight to his injured leg but it hurts too much. He shakes his head.

“No, it hurts.” Dean whispers out, not liking to feel weak.

Cas is surprised at Dean’s honesty. He nods and bends over to lift Dean in a bridal style hold and Dean wraps his arms around Castiel’s neck.

“I think you are gonna have spectacular muscles by the time I’m better,” Dean says, smirking at the side of Castiel’s face. He runs his hand down Cas’ arm and squeezes the bicep. “Not that they aren’t already pretty spectacular.”

Castiel’s face heats up. “Oh shut up, Dean,” he says as he puts Dean down on the couch.

He starts to stand straight again when Dean grabs the front Castiel’s shirt and pulls him back down. Before Castiel can question him, Dean brings his other hand to the back of his head and presses a kiss to Castiel’s lips.

Cas cups Dean’s face and kisses him back.

They pull apart and Dean presses their foreheads together. “Hi,” he whispers.

“Hi.” Cas whispers back, with a soft smile on his face.

“How was work?” Dean asks, letting Castiel straighten back up again.

“Work was crazy and hectic as usual. Got another call from our mystery woman,” Cas says, trying to play it off.

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Was that why you were all worried when you got home?”

“Just the same as the other day. Wants her man out. Charlie tried to track the call but it was untraceable,” Cas says, sighing heavily.

Dean takes in the bags under Castiel’s eyes and how tired his eyes looked. How tired Castiel looked in general. He looks rough around the edges and Dean knew that Castiel has had a longer, tougher day at work then he let on.

“How about you go take a hot shower and I’ll cook you up something to eat? You bring me the groceries I asked for?” he asks, forcing himself to his feet.

“Yeah, they’re on the counter.”

Dean turns around and indeed sees the items he asked for on the table. He nods and turns back around to face Castiel. “Alright, go shower and relax.”

Cas nods. “Thank you, Dean.” He leans over and presses a kiss to Dean’s forehead. “You always seem to know what I need better than me, even.”

Dean leans into the kiss, “That’s because you don’t take care of yourself. You work yourself too much, but I’m here now. I’ll take care of you.”

“I could say the same for you, baby,” Castiel says.

“Hmm, guess we work out then, huh?” Dean responds, smiling.

“Yeah, I guess we do” Cas replies as he heads to the bathroom to take a shower.

Dean cooks them up a quick meal and sets the table.

Cas comes out about twenty minutes later, dressed in a pair of black basketball shorts and a white shirt.

“Mhm, it smells great in here” Cas says, as he presses a kiss to Dean’s head, before sitting down beside him on the barstool.

“Thanks.”

*

After dinner, Cas clears the dishes and washes them since Dean had cooked for them. Dean comes out to keep him company after brushing his teeth by sitting on a stool and drying the dishes and putting them into neat piles so Cas could put them away easier. 

After the clean up Dean tosses back another dose of medication and Cas goes to brush his teeth. He comes out to see Dean hiding his yawn behind his hand. 

“Tired are we?” Cas asks.

Dean nods. “It feels like it’s been a long day, even though I haven’t done anything.” 

“It always does when you’re stuck at home with an injury,” Cas says, walking over to him and taking him in his arms.

Dean nods, and wraps his arms around Castiel’s neck. 

“Would you like to call it a night?” Cas asks.

Dean nods again. Cas smiles and kisses him, both their breaths minty and fresh. Dean runs a hand through Castiel’s hair and Cas lead them both to bed. 

After they settle down, Cas reaches over to turn the bedside lamp off. 

“Good night, Dean.” 

“Night, Cas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gem: Ehehehehe  
> Jen: :P  
> Gem: so what are we doing next chapter  
> Jen: ????  
> Gem: its not written yet!  
> Jen: wtf. do we have any ideas?  
> Gem: no?  
> Jen: *bangs head on desk*  
> Jen: *eyes*  
> Gem: *raises eyebrow* Whaaat?  
> Jen: *comes up with a terrible idea that will make you all hate us* *Maniacal laughter*  
> Gem:... I BLAME JEN


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badass Charlie being Badass, also Dean sleeps like an octopus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Jen said I can blame all this on her so I'm blaming it on her.   
> *Runs away and hides*

Castiel groans at the sound of his phone going off. He disentangles himself from Dean (who was doing quite the impression of an octopus) and slaps the nightstand looking for his phone. He manages to grab it before the last ring and swipes to answer the call.

“What.”

“Capitan Novak? It’s Destiny with dispatch. I’m sorry to wake you sir, but I just got a report that I think you need to know about.”

Castiel pulls the phone back from his ear and squints at it. 1 am. “This had better be an emergency,” he grumbles under his breath as he brings the phone back to his ear. “My apologies, Destiny, I was asleep. What’s going on?”

“It’s alright sir, I understand. Unit 1435 just called in a 11-24 on Officer Bradbury’s rental car. The vehicle was found with the key in the ignition and the engine still running, but no sign of Bradbury.”

Well, he’s sure the fuck is awake now. “What time did the call come in?”

“Just now sir. With the situation your team has been dealing with, the dispatchers put alerts on all of you and your families just in case something came across the lines.” She hesitates before continuing, “We wanted to make sure that if anything happened you or your team, you would know as soon as possible. You guys mean a lot to us.”

Castiel clears his throat to keep the lump currently lodged there from rising any further. “Thank you Destiny. And thank the rest of the dispatchers for me as well. We owe you for keeping watch for us. And thank you for calling me as quickly as you did. Let the responding officer know to get in touch with me as soon as he can.”

“Will do, sir. Hope you find her soon.” Destiny hangs up and Castiel pushes himself into a sitting position and scrubs his face with his hands. 

Los Diablos has the heart and soul of his team.

Fuck.

**

Charlie groans as she wakes up, rolling her head to the side. 

Where the hell was she?

She remembered leaving the comic shop for the weekly D&D game. And then…

Oh right! A young brown-haired woman had run in front of her car, frantically waving at her to stop. Her clothes were ripped and hanging off her body, and she had a black eye and a split lip. Charlie had slammed on her breaks to avoid hitting her, and gotten out of the car.

“Oh my God, you have to help me!” she remembers the young woman screeching at her. “I got attacked by some guy and-”

_ “It’s ok! I’m a police officer, I can help you.” Charlie fumbled for her badge so she could show it to the woman. “See? We can call it in to dispatch and-” _

_ “NO!! Don’t do that they’ll kill me! They told me not to tell the cops!” the woman whispered, going pale. She clutched at the tattered remains of her blouse and looked around wildly.  _

_ Charlie nodded. “OK sweetie, ok, we won’t call dispatch. What can I do to help you?” _

_ The brunette looked up and smiled. “Oh sweetheart, you already have.” _

_ Charlie tilted her head in confusion before a sharp pain exploded across the back of her skull and her world went black. _

Crap. Cas is gonna kill her if whoever grabbed her doesn’t do it first. 

She wiggles her toes and fingers and relief shoots through her that everything seems to be in working order, if a little tingly from the rope securing her to the chair. As she starts to try to wiggle her way free, a hard voice stops her cold. 

“Mmm, awake are we?” 

Charlie’s head shoots up - big mistake - and she looks around to pinpoint where the voice is coming from. Black spots dance in front of her eyes as she darts them back and forth in the dark room she was being kept in. 

A tall man steps out of the shadows and crosses the room to her. “Ah yes. Sweet little Charlie.” He reaches out and runs the tip of his finger across her cheek before she jerks away. “Such a good little girl, stopping for a damsel in distress.” His arm shoots out and grabs her chin in a grip so tight Charlie can already feel the bruises forming and forces her to look at him. “Such a naive little girl.” She can smell his rancid breath he’s so close to her and she swallows. 

“Wh- what do you want?”

The man hums and taps her on the cheek with his other hand. “What do I want. Hmm. Such a good question from my good little girl.” He lets go of her chin and stands up, hands on his hips as he rakes his eyes over her. He turns around and walks out of Charlie’s line of sight, humming a nonsensical tune the entire time. 

Charlie tries to keep a level head as she swallows again. “Who are you?”

The humming stops and he replies, “Ah, the good girl has another good question, hmm?” She can hear what sounds like squeaky cart wheels coming towards her as he answers her. “My name, darling girl, is Alistair.” 

He comes back into her line of sight, dragging a cart after him. Charlie feels the explosion of panic in her chest as she takes in the instruments laid out on it and starts to identify them, one by one. 

Alistair brings the cart to a stop in front of her and then walks towards a table she hadn’t noticed before. There is a video camera on a tripod with a laptop set up next to it. Her eyes dart back and forth between the cart and the laptop as he swings himself around the table humming to himself again. Bright lights suddenly white out her vision and a blurry red dot starts blinking. 

Charlie blinks her eyes rapidly as tears stream down her face. She can see the fuzzy shape of Alistar getting larger before he comes to a stop in front of her again; a looming shadow.

“Hello Charlie. It’s nice to meet you.” She snorts. “Now now, none of that dear girl. We just want to say hi to your boss, let him know where you are.” He moves to her right side and leans over to talk directly into her ear. “Can you look at the camera and wave? Oh, right, sorry no waving for you. Just say hi to Castiel for me.”

Charlie clamps her mouth shut and shakes her head side to side, closing her eyes tightly against the pain. She hears Alistair sigh and a rustle of clothes before he grabs her chin in his bruising grip again. 

“I said, say hi to Castiel.”

Charlie keeps her mouth firmly closed. 

Pain blooms as Alistair’s fist connects with her mouth and she can taste blood coating her teeth and tongue. Her eyes fly open and she glares at Alistair.

“Say hello to Castiel, my sweet girl, or that split lip will be the least of your worries.”

Charlie works her jaw back and forth and Alistair leans down so that his face is level with hers. 

She spits a mouthful of blood and saliva in his face. 

“Aaarrgh!” Alistair slams the back of his hand to the right side of her face and Charlie’s head snaps left so hard she can feel the muscles in her neck scream in protest. She pants for a second to try to ease herself through the pain before she lifts her head to glare at Alistair again, bloodied lips still set into a tight line.

“Fine. You want to do this the hard way?” Alistair spits at her before stalking behind her. He grips her hair and yanks her head up so that she is forced to look at the camera before he wraps his other hand around her throat and starts squeezing. “Castiel. We have your precious Charlie Bradbury. What you see here is  _ nothing _ compared to what I will do to her if you do not release Azazal.” 

He squeezes her throat harder until Charlie is forced to gasp for air, and grey starts to swim in her vision.

“You have three days before I start moving down her pretty little body. Use them well, Captain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DON'T MURDER US.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blast from the past + Dean stands up for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting, Jen and I got a little busy. DX  
> Hope you enjoy the lil surprise :D  
> No we aren't evil, what are you talking about...

Castiel turns to look at Dean, who is resting peacefully beside him. He bites his lip and debates on whether he should wake him up or not. He lets out a sigh and gets out of bed. He does his business and grabs his jeans from the closet, foregoing a shirt until after he wakes up Dean. 

He goes over and sits on Dean’s side of the bed. “Dean,” he whispers gently, not wanting to startle him. He places a hand on his shoulder and rubs it, “Dean, Dean wake up.” 

Dean grunts as he is disturbed from his peaceful sleep. He frowns, closing his eyes tighter before blinking himself awake. It’s still dark in the room since Castiel had only turned on the bedside lamp on his side. 

“Whas goin on?” He mumbles as he looks up at Cas. “Are you okay?” He asks, rubbing his eyes.

Cas nods, “Yeah, but I don’t think Charlie is.” No point in sugar coating it. Castiel has never been that person. 

“What?!” Dean struggles to sit up with his injured thigh and Cas helps him up. “What do you mean?! Where is she? What’s going on?” Dean asks, frantically.

“I got a call from Destiny…”

“From dispatch?” Dean questions.

Cas nods. “Yeah, she told me she found Charlie’s rental abandoned in the middle of the street with the keys still in the ignition.” 

Hysteria sweeps over Dean thanks to the stupid medicine still fogging his brain. “What are we going to do?” Dean absentmindedly moves closer to Cas to seek comfort. 

Cas wraps his arm around Dean and pulls him into his chest. “I need to go to the office and see if I can track down any information on anything related to this incident. I need to go see if there are any CCTV cameras in the area.” 

“I’m coming with you.” Dean starts to pull away.

“No.” Castiel’s voice holds no room for argument.

“Cas…” 

“I said no, Dean. You’ll be safe here.”

“Cas, I can protect myself. I said I’m coming. I am not arguing with you on this.” Dean is also not one to back down. 

“Dean…” 

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. I can make my own decisions,” Dean grits out as he pushes Castiel off him and gets out of bed. He clenches his jaw but refuses to wince or hobble as he walks over to grab his jeans. He has too much pride for that.

Cas watches Dean get dressed, “Dean…”

“No, Cas!” Dean whirls around to glare at him, anger flaring in his eyes. “Charlie is one of my best friends, I can’t just sit here while she’s god knows where. We don’t even know how she is!” 

“That’s just it, Dean! You can’t make this personal! We can’t let our emotions cloud our actions,” Cas tries to explain.

“Oh, so this doesn’t bother you?! You have no heart? Is that it?!” 

“Don’t twist my words, Dean!” Cas growls. “You know that’s not what I mean. I love her just as much as you.” 

“Then act like it!” Dean spits. 

“Dean! You aren’t understanding me! I’ve already failed Charlie, I can’t do that to you. I need to protect you. I don’t want… I  _ can’t _ lose you too…” 

Dean deflates, “Cas, don’t worry about me. I’m coming with you. Besides, I’ll be safer with you and the rest of the team.” 

Cas pauses, thinking it through before nodding. 

While Dean gets dressed Castiel calls the rest of his team telling them to meet at the department and tells them he’ll explain once they get there. 

“Let’s go.” Dean comes up to him.

Cas hangs up with Benny and shoves his phone in his pocket. He goes over to his safe and grabs their registered weapons and holsters. He passes Dean’s to him and secures his own to his belt.

He grabs his shirt and slips it on before getting his badge, keys, and wallet. Dean follows Cas out the door and Castiel locks up making sure to set the alarm before he does. Castiel is just about to pick Dean up when Dean notices the elevator is working again. 

“Cas, the elevator is fixed.” Dean says, pointing to the elevator. 

“Oh…” Cas rubs the back of his neck and helps Dean over to the elevator. 

*

Once arriving at their workplace Cas makes a beeline for his office, Dean watching him from the glass walls. He watches as Castiel makes a couple calls. He looks distressed and pinches the bridge of his nose as he pauses to listen. His voice is getting louder and Dean winces in sympathy for the person on the other end. 

Benny, Jo, and Garth rush into the building. 

“Dean! What’s going on? Where’s Charlie?” Jo asks as she rushes towards him.

Dean asks them to sit down, “Listen, I know this is going to be hard to hear but…” He explains the situation to them and Jo has tears in her eyes. 

“Hey, we’ll find her. She’s strong. It’s going to be okay.” Dean says as he pulls her into a hug. 

“I love her, Dean,” Jo mumbles into his shirt through her tears.

Dean squeezes her a little harder. “She’ll be okay, Jo.”

“I didn’t even get to tell her,” she sobs.

“You will. You’ll get to tell her when we get her back.” He rubs her back soothingly. 

She nods against his chest.

Castiel comes out of his office and Jo pulls away, wiping her eyes. 

“Is Ash in yet?” Cas asks, voice rough from the yelling he’s been doing.

“Ash?” Benny asks.

“I called him in. We need his help.”

“Isn’t he a traffic cop?” Jo asks.

“Yes. Exactly why I called him.” 

As if on cue, Ash walks in. “Dr. Badass is right here,” he says, spreading his arms.

“Good, I need you to pull CCTV footage from the area where Charlie was last seen.” 

“Don’t we need warrants for that?” Dean asks, furrowing his brows.

“We don’t have time.” Cas says.

“Cas, Sir, we shouldn’t…” Dean starts.

“Just do as I say, Ash!” He growls in frustration, ignoring Dean.

Ash nods as he goes to set up.

Dean clenches his teeth as he glares at Castiel. “Cas! A word.”

Castiel looks at him and sighs, “What?” 

“In private.” 

Cas nods and follows him back into his office.

“What, Dean?” 

“Castiel, I get you’re worried but you can’t just be doing things illegally.” Dean says.

“I thought you wanted to find out what happened to Charlie?” Cas asks.

“I do, but that doesn’t mean we should be breaking laws? What if we need to use that footage in court? They won’t accept it!” 

“I’ll deal with it.” Cas says.

“No! Cas! That’s not the point.” Dean starts.

“Castiel!” Ash calls from the other room.

Castiel brushes past Dean as he heads towards the door.

“Cas!” Dean tries. Cas doesn’t answer and heads straight towards Ash.

Dean sighs. Cas is going to get them fired.

*

“You get something?” Cas asks Ash.

Ash nods, “Yeah, there aren’t many traffic cams in the area but I managed to locate one that was close enough to see what happened.” 

Cas nods, leaning over Ash’s chair so he can see the screen. Dean goes over to the other side and the rest of their team crowd around them. 

They watch as the front of Charlie’s rental drives into the frame before she slams her brakes as someone runs in front of her car. Cas squints at the screen; there is something oddly familiar about the person. Charlie rushes out of the car and Cas growls, he’s told Charlie to be careful so many times, yet she’s always throwing herself in danger. They watch as Charlie goes towards the girl and helps her stand upright. The girl turns slightly, enough for her blurry face to be seen on the camera. Castiel freezes, he stands up straight and pales. Dean looks up at Cas. 

“Cas?” Dean questions.

Castiel doesn’t answer.

“Cas?!” Dean yells, straightening up walking over to Cas. He places a hand on his chest and Castiel’s eyes break away from the screen and dart over to Dean.

“Are you okay?”

“Meg…”

“What?” Dean frowns.

“That’s Meg.” 

Dean’s eyes shoot over to look back at the screen, where Ash has paused the video on Meg’s face.

Dean drops his hand and steps away from Cas.

“Are you sure?” Dean asks.

Cas nods, “She... she looks the same, except her hair is shorter.”

The way Cas is talking about her has Dean frowning. He swallows hard and turns back to Ash.

“Play the rest of the video.” 

Ash looks between the two of them and hits play.

They watch as Charlie tries to help Meg before some guy sneaks into the screen and hits Charlie across the back of her head. 

Jo clenches her fists as she watches as a couple guys dressed in all black and masks drag away Charlie and the other girl.

“What if they got Meg too?” Cas asks, once the video finishes. 

Dean looks at him, “Why would they do that? You aren’t with her anymore. You don’t feel anything for her… do you?” Dean questions.

Castiel swallows hard, he didn’t… so why is he feeling like this? 

“Cas?” Dean’s voice is so soft Cas barely hears it.

He looks at Dean and shakes his head, “N… no… I… I don’t know…” He runs a hand over his face and takes a couple steps back. He turns around and walks away. 

“Cas!” Dean calls behind him. Castiel doesn’t stop.

“Dean, what’s going on, brotha?” Benny asks.

He turns around to look at the rest of them, “That… that uh… that’s Castiel’s ex.” He explains.

Everyone freezes in shock. “Well fuck,” someone says into the silence.

“You wanna go talk to him?” Garth asks, “We’ll re-watch the video and see if we can find any clues on who these guys might be.” 

Dean nods looking towards Castiel’s office, where Cas is sitting with his elbow on the desk and his head resting in the palm of his hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo.....
> 
> :D :D :D
> 
> How'd ya like the surprise?


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gets a little surprise from the gang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes from Jen: so since we posted last I had to go on a two week work trip AND drive from Tennessee to Michigan and back. I’m a space cadet of the highest order and I am so so sorry we haven’t been able to keep up writing and posting. We are not abandoning this thing, just gotta find time, energy, and figure out where the hell the bus is going
> 
> Notes from Gem: Sorry for the huge delay school and life smacked us across the face and we apologize for making y'all wait so long.

“Cas?” Dean knocks lightly on the door before walking in. “Hey, you okay?” Dean asks softly as he walks over to Castiel and puts a hand on his shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Sorry I went all caveman on you out there.” Cas says, looking up at Dean.

Dean runs a hand through Castiel’s hair and Cas leans into the touch, “It’s okay, I get it.” 

Cas sighs, “I… I don’t know what to do.” 

Dean sits down sideways in Castiel’s lap, holding him close, “It’s okay, Cas. We’ll get them back. It’s going to be okay. You have all of us, okay? You’re not alone.” Dean whispers, pressing a kiss to Castiel’s head. 

Cas nods, face buried in Dean’s chest. He takes a deep breath to steel himself and withdraws from Dean’s arms. The sound of voices from the squad room is a low murmur as he leans in and snatches a kiss from Dean before walking out to rejoin his team. 

The morning passes by with each of them hard at work. Ash has been temporarily reassigned to them since he has the same type of background with computers Charlie has, and he is off in a corner of the room doing… something. No one has been brave enough to bother him to find out.

Castiel’s been working with Capitan Singer working on getting details set up for each of the family members and a uniform sitting outside the houses at night when he hears Ash take a sharp breath.

All heads snap to face him.

Ash looks up, face as white as a sheet. “Um, Bossman? I think you need to take a look at this.” 

The team drops what they are doing and descend on Ash’s work station like a plague of locusts, crowding in around him so they can all see what’s caused the traffic cop to look like he’s seen a ghost. Ash takes a deep breath and brings up a video and hits play.

Dean can feel the blood running out of his face as he watches his best friend in the world be knocked around by some… maniac. His muscles clench tighter and tighter with the rage that sweeps through him with each blow Charlie takes, but he can’t help but feel proud of her for not giving in to this creepshow’s demands. The white noise in his ears drown out whatever he’s saying, but he feels Castiel suck in a breath next to him right before the screen goes black.

The team stands in shock until a growl rips its way out of Benny’s throat. “Can you track where this came from Ash?” He asks.

“Already did. They have someone who knows what they are doing covering up the digital signature, but I’m running everything else through my databases to see if I can pinpoint the location where this was actually filmed.”

Benny claps a hand on Ash’s shoulder and stalks back over to where he’d been set up working, muttering under his breath. 

Beside him, Dean can feel Castiel starting to hyperventilate as the shock of what they just had to watch settles in. Dean pulls him back into his office and shuts the door, pushing the dark-haired man into a chair before forcing his head down between his knees. 

“Breathe with me, Cas. That’s it.” Dean rubs his back soothingly. 

“This is all my fault.” Cas manages to choke out once he’s calmed down a bit. 

“No, Cas. It isn’t.”

“I should’ve done what they asked.” 

“Cas, listen to me. If you had done what they asked so many more people would have been at risk.” 

“But Charlie…” Cas clenches his hands into fists. 

“We’ll get her back.” Dean says. “We need you at your best right now Castiel. You’re our leader. You need to be strong for the team.”

Castiel takes a deep breath to compose himself and nods. “Alright, I’m alright, Dean, thank you.” Dean can see his mask is in place and sighs to himself as they make their way back out into the squad room. 

“So what’s our next step?” Benny asks.

“I’m going to go to the area where Charlie was kidnapped and ask around. Maybe someone saw something.” Cas says. 

Jo comes over to him, “I’ll go with you.” She says. 

Castiel nods.

“Sir…” Dean starts.

Castiel looks at him, “No Dean. You are not coming with us.” 

Dean rolls his eyes, “I wasn’t going to say that.”

“Then?” Cas asks raising his eyebrow.

“Just… let us know if you find anything and...” Dean pauses, clearing his throat before speaking again, “be careful.” 

Castiel nods, “You’re in charge while I’m gone.” 

Dean nods, “See you soon.” 

Castiel nods again and follows Jo out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all still with us and if you are thank you for your continued support. We love you :*

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell with us on tumblr
> 
> Jen (Wargurl83) --> [tumblr](https://wargurl83.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Gem (Ravenscat) --> [tumblr](https://ravenscat-tumbler.tumblr.com/)
> 
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